Hit Hard
by Lily Hanson
Summary: The Rangers have to recover after a brutal mission.
1. Secrets Come Out

_Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel._

The expression _"going of her mind with worry"_ didn't adequately express the way Hayley was feeling. She was more than certain that she had completely lost her mind, and worry wasn't a strong enough word to describe that intense sense of dread that she felt had taken over her body.

It had been a full day now since Preston and Calvin had given up their powers. A full day had passed since they returned their Stars and for Calvin, it had been a full day since he had walked out of the base.

Thinking he had just needed some space, Hayley waited until after training to check up on him. She thought she might find him in the parking lot, working on Nitro, but neither the truck, nor Calvin were there. So, she thought he might be at home, and sent Sarah to his house asking after him. Since he was supposed to be staying with Hayley and her family for a couple of days, it wouldn't be alarming to his parents if Sarah didn't know where he was.

But Calvin wasn't home. His parents told her that he was staying with Hayley, just like the original plan. Sarah returned to the base, and Hayley called her dad, hoping he had seen Calvin. He hadn't.

So, Brody drove them around the city, looking through all of Calvin's favourite places to hang out. They tried. An evening of searching led to nothing, and once it was dark, the Rangers had to call it quits for the night.

Hayley hoped, in the morning, she could yell at Calvin for making her worry. She hoped he would be in the base, or at school. She hoped to see him, apologizing for his disappearance.

In the morning, Calvin wasn't anywhere. Hayley waited for class to start, but he didn't show. She called RedBot through the communicators to see if he had returned to Ninja Ops, but he hadn't. By lunch, it had been a full day since she had seen her boyfriend.

She was scared, livid, and desperate to know if he was okay. She paced Ninja Ops. All that was on her mind was Oedius. What if Oedius had taken Calvin like she had done Sarah?

"So… this is what it's like on the other side, huh?" Sarah asked quietly, knowing that Hayley was fuming and she didn't want to give the white Ranger more reason to be upset. Brody nodded his head.

"Yep."

"I think I like being the one missing better," Sarah said. "It seems… less stressful."

"Yep," Brody answered again. He turned to Preston, "He really didn't say anything about where he was going?"

"No," Preston shook his head.

"And you're still not going to tell us what happened?" Levi asked him. Preston shook his head.

"We promised we wouldn't."

"Why?" Kelly asked. She was going between her friends and Hayley, trying to comfort the white Ranger, but also trying to figure out what they could do next. "What do you have to hide?"

Preston had never been the best liar. He could get away with a lie or two if it was important, or if the truth really didn't matter, but when lying about something so important to the people he cared about most, he had a tough time. They were looking desperate, and though he didn't have a clue where Calvin would have gone, maybe telling what happened might help.

But he shook his head. They couldn't reveal what happened. He had already done what needed to do and gave up his Power Star. They weren't in any danger. They were a team that really had each other's backs when it mattered.

"Presto," Sarah begged him gently as she held his hand. Preston pulled away, ashamed. She wouldn't be nice to him if she knew.

But Sarah wouldn't let him pull away. She hated to see Preston in pain.

"Whatever happened, whatever you went through, it's over now. You're okay," Sarah told him. Preston wouldn't look at her. "You'll get better, we'll stop Oedius for good and…"

"I can't talk about it," he said.

"Preston, we don't know what happened but… whatever it is, it's hurting," Sarah said. "If you know where Calvin could have gone…"

"I don't."

"Do you know why he left?" Sarah asked. Preston looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself and shook his head. Sarah looked to him, desperately now. She loved Calvin, and she knew Hayley was going out of her mind. The sooner they found their powerless, injured yellow Ranger, the better. "Presto, please."

"No," he said.

"Presto…"

"No."

"Please," she begged. Preston shook his head again, then lay down in his cot.

"My head hurts."

"My boyfriend's out there!" Hayley shouted at him, finally losing her temper. She knew to be patient with Preston, but with Calvin so vulnerable and alone, she didn't want Preston electing to take a nap if he had information that could keep Calvin safe.

"He doesn't have his Power Star, which is all Oedius wants."

"Doesn't mean she won't still come after him," Hayley said. "Preston, I swear to god, if you don't tell me…"

"Hayley," Kelly said and grabbed the white Ranger by the arm. "Be gentle."

"He knows something," Hayley growled. "And if magic-boy over here doesn't tell us…"

"I can't," Preston said, caving on his promise slightly. "I can't, okay? I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Sarah asked him gently, and Brody and Levi came around to listen. Hayley was still fuming, but Kelly was making sure to stay between the blue and white Ranger.

"It's…. it's hard to talk about."

"You were in the game room," Levi said to Preston. It was all the information they had. Sarah, from the future, had briefly told them about it before they entered the castle, just to prepare them for what might happen if they were caught. Her stories weren't terrible, but the fear in her eyes and her reluctance to even think of the room made everyone on the team imagine the worst. Now, only Calvin and Preston knew of the horrors inside. "I was held prisoner by Oedius as she stole my memories and put them in a robot. Brody lived as a slave for ten years on Galvanax' ship. Sarah was broken in by a pimp, who later kidnapped and raped Kelly."

"Thanks for that," Brody muttered to his brother, and Levi looked around to see all his friends were rolling their eyes at him for bringing up their worst memories.

"Sorry guys, but… I'm just reminding Preston that we've all seen hard times," Levi said. "And I'm not saying that's all as bad as the game room but… we can all relate in a way. So, whatever happened to you, you can talk about it."

"You weren't… raped, were you?" Kelly asked. Preston shook his head.

"No."

"Memories stolen?" Levi asked and again Preston shook his head.

"I wish."

"Forced to grow up as a slave?" Brody asked, and once again, Preston shook his head.

"No."

"Beaten and almost raped by a man you once called dad?" Sarah asked and when her teammates looked to her strangely, she frowned. "Well, excuse me for not having the most traditional, loving family of the group."

"You never told us you used to call him dad," Brody said.

"Well, what else do you call the man who takes care of you. And I use that term loosely," Sarah said.

"I just… never made the connection," Levi said, then turned back to Preston. The blue Ranger sighed.

"No, okay? Nothing like that happened to us."

"So, what did happen?" Levi asked.

"I… I can't talk about it," Preston said, and looked to Sarah as he did. She noticed and pointed to herself.

"Did I do something? Is that why Calvin freaked out at me yesterday?"

"No."

"Because if I did, I'm sorry," Sarah said. "I… I get cranky when I'm hungry… I guess."

"No, Sarah," Preston told her. "You didn't do anything."

"So, then what did happen?" Brody asked. He was also starting to get a little frustrated. "Preston, it's really starting to sound like nothing happened, but if that was the case…"

"We were pretty badly beaten," Preston gestured to himself.

"We've been there," Brody said. "What makes this time different?"

"I can't say."

"Calvin's hurt," Hayley growled. "He's hurt, he's scared, he's alone. Preston, if you don't start talking, that game room isn't going to be the place of nightmares anymore. I can…"

"Okay, we're getting fresh air," Kelly said and grabbed Hayley. She pushed the white Ranger to the door and forced her outside. Preston watched her go. If this was how pissed Hayley was before finding out, he couldn't imagine how she would feel after.

"She's over the line, but she's right," Levi said. "Preston, you and Calvin made a promise to each other in a difficult time, and I get that. But things are looking pretty bad and… if you know something that can help, and I'm pretty sure you do, you have to tell us. A promise means nothing if something happens to Calvin."

"He's right," Sarah said. "Presto…"

"You're not going to like it," Preston shook his head.

"I won't like it if anything happens to Calvin because you were keeping secrets," Sarah said. "Whatever it is…"

"We were hurting," Preston interrupted. He didn't want her to make any promises she couldn't keep. He didn't want her to say that, no matter what, she would still love him. "It was bad."

"It looks bad," Brody nodded.

"Really bad," Preston said. "I thought… I knew I was going to die in there. Part of me wanted to die, it hurt so bad."

"So, what happened?" Sarah asked him.

"The guard… one of them made us an offer," Preston said. "All the pain could end if we… if we…"

"If you? What did you do?"

"I didn't do it," Preston shook his head. "But… Sarah, you have to understand, we were in so much pain. You were too. Calvin… he didn't have a choice. And he knew, when we got home… it'd be like it never happened."

"What happened?" Brody asked. Preston looked down at his hands.

"The beating didn't kill Sarah. She… You weren't too weak. You fought back. You gave them a hard time. It was… you were so strong."

"So then how did I die?" Sarah asked. Preston couldn't bring himself to look at her. He knew it wasn't his hands that killed her, and he knew it wasn't like he would mimic those actions under any other circumstance, but he remembered wanting Sarah dead. He remembered being glad it wasn't him doing it, but knowing that if Calvin failed, he would follow through.

And that was enough.

"Sarah, I'm sorry," Preston whispered. "We were in so much pain and… that was the only way to make it stop."

"You killed me?" Sarah asked.

"Calvin did, technically, but… I would have too. I wanted to, too, and… Sarah, I'm sorry. I… I…"

Sarah didn't say anything. She threw herself at Preston and wrapped her arms around him tight. She wasn't happy to hear that he and Calvin were the reason she was dead, but she hadn't been in that room with them. All she knew about it was what Preston and Calvin had shared, as well as the marks on their body that told a story of their own.

Hearing her killers were people she trusted with her life hurt, but Preston had stressed his pain and the decision the guard had forced them to make. If anything, she was relieved to hear that the guard wanted her dead. At least when the Rangers returned home, that was erased. If they had to kill each other, that would have been permanent.

So, she forgave Preston. They would have to talk, if she was going to continue to trust him with her life, but she did forgive him.

For Preston, it was like a weight was lifted off his chest. The secret was out, and that was relieving enough, but to have Sarah almost immediately start to comfort him and let him know they were even just okay, was a blessing. Right away, he started to sob.

And Sarah just held him.


	2. Calvin The Killer

Hayley wasn't happy to be pulled out of Ninja Ops, but Kelly was insistent and, though she wouldn't admit it, Hayley knew she needed the fresh air.

"You can't talk to him like that," Kelly growled. Hayley looked to her.

"He knows something," she said. "And this being gentle crap isn't working."

"Fine," Kelly said. "But you can't bring up the game room like that. Whatever happened, clearly, it's painful. Using that isn't right."

"Calvin…"

"I know," Kelly told her. "Trust me, Hayley, I've been in your shoes. I was _just_ in them. I know what it's like not to know where the love of your life is. But this isn't how you find them. Especially with Preston. He's… squishy."

"Squishy?"

"Sarah's words, not mine," Kelly shook her head. "Look, you're scared, and I totally get that. I get that you'll do whatever you need to do to find him, but Preston's still your friend. Calvin's a big boy and if he went off on his own, he knew the risks."

"But if Preston doesn't talk…"

"He's a good guy, Hayley," Kelly promised. "He'll talk. We just have to wait until he's ready."

"What if that takes too long?" Hayley asked. She sat down on the grass by the Ribbon Tree. "What if… something happens to Calvin out there?"

"I don't know," Kelly said.

"How did you do it? When it was Sarah, I mean. We've lost her a few times and I thought… I mean, I thought I knew how you feel because I care about her too but… this is so much scarier."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "If I'm honest, I'm kinda glad it's Calvin. If it helps, though, Sarah's never exactly run off by herself. Someone's always taken her. Calvin, at least, went on his own."

"Something could have happened."

"Or not," Kelly said. "We have to hope, wherever he went, that he's okay. We have to hope that we will find him, and you can yell and kill him as much as you want when we do."

"If we do."

"When," Kelly corrected. "You can't do the ifs. You can't let yourself think for a second that something could have happened. Hope is the only thing that's going to keep you going right now and until you have a reason to lose it, you have to hang onto it with everything you have. Trust me on that, Hayley. Trust that we'll find him and he'll be okay."

"It's hard."

"I know," Kelly nodded. She rolled up beside Hayley and put her hand on her shoulder. It was at that moment, Brody stepped out of Ninja Ops. He looked to the girls.

"Preston told us what happened," he said. Hayley looked up, and started to push herself to her feet. Brody shook his head. "You might want to sit down."

"No problem there," Kelly said with a chuckle, but Brody didn't laugh. He didn't even crack a smile. Kelly frowned. "What happened?"

"Calvin killed Sarah," Brody stated. Both girls looked shocked.

"What?"

"In the future."

"He kills her… or…"

"He killed her. Past tense for… time travel sucks. In the game room, when it was just the three of them. They were beaten bad and told that it could end if Calvin killed Sarah. I don't know how much they protested it but Preston made it seem like he would have done it himself if Calvin hadn't."

"He killed… that was why Sarah was dead?" Kelly asked. Brody nodded his head.

"She's forgiven him," Brody assured the girls, though he wasn't sure that was reassurance. "At least… it looks like she has. And if she hasn't, I'd really watch my back because she's very deceptive."

"She probably forgave him," Kelly muttered.

"Calvin would never hurt anyone," Hayley shook her head. "They must have been tricked into thinking…"

"Preston seemed pretty clear about it."

"But…" Hayley frowned. Calvin was always sweet, and always so gentle. Of course, like any couple, they had their fights, and feelings were hurt from time to time, but… that was a huge jump to murder. Even under duress, she couldn't imagine Calvin wanting to kill anyone, never mind a friend.

Her heart plunged, first for pain Calvin must have endured to go through with the kill, then for the guilt she was sure the yellow Ranger felt after. It was no wonder he snapped at Sarah for being kind to him the day before. It was no wonder he took off.

"We have to find him," Hayley said. Brody nodded.

"Knowing that, is there anywhere you could think of that Calvin might go to?" Brody asked her. "He would probably want to be alone, right?"

"Yeah," Hayley nodded. "But… We checked everywhere I could think of. Unless… unless I'm missing something?"

Hayley turned to Kelly, who shrugged.

"I don't know," she answered. "His place, our place, the garage, the store, the parks… where else does he go by himself?"

"Would he turn himself in?" Brody asked. Kelly shook her head.

"No body, no murder," she answered. "At least, it's pretty damn hard to prove murder without a body. And considering the person he killed is inside consoling his accomplice, it'll be a pretty impossible case."

"You knew that pretty quickly," Hayley frowned.

"You look up a lot of weird shit as a writer," Kelly said. "Don't judge me by my browser history."

"There has to be somewhere he would go," Brody asked.

Hayley couldn't help but agree. Calvin wasn't in his usual spots, but there had to be somewhere where he would hide out.

-Ninja-Steel-

Calvin didn't want to quit being a Ranger. Though it was a tough and dangerous job, he loved it. He loved being able to protect the people he cared about. He loved that being a Ranger brought him closer to his friends, and helped him make friends with people he never thought he'd be close to. He loved the sense of responsibility and how it kept him making good choices for himself. He loved that he got chosen for this responsibility with Hayley, and never had to keep part of his life a secret. He loved that he got to train his body to be faster, stronger, smarter and better. He loved that his skills as a mechanic could help his team.

Giving all that up was the hardest decision he had made. However, he didn't think he was fit to be the yellow Ranger anymore. He trusted his teammates with his life. He trusted that no matter what, he could depend on them to pull him out of trouble, and protect him when he needed it. His teammates deserved that same trust.

So, while he knew killing Sarah wouldn't be permanent, he also knew that it was a decision he made. In a hard time, to save his own skin, he killed someone who trusted him. As she begged for her life, as she begged for him to find another way, he took her life. It didn't matter that once they returned to the present, Sarah would be alive again. If the guards had asked him to kill Preston, he would have done the same.

It was just so much pain. He remembered feeling like his skin was on fire; like he was being burned alive. He could remember feeling the blood flowing from his body. He remembered the metallic taste in his mouth, and the way the room spun. He remembered the pounding headache that consumed the whole upper part of his body, from his shoulders, through his neck and right to the tips of his hair. He remembered the burning pain from his cuts, the tenderness of the bruises, as well as the numbness, from his body desperately trying to stop the pain.

He remembered there was nothing he could do about it, either. He had been completely at the mercy of the guards and when they were ready to stop. He also remembered not being able to rely on the release of death. For the Power Stars to work, Oedius needed the Rangers alive. She would never order her guards to kill what she believe were the only two Rangers left.

Knowing that the pain could last forever, once he was given an out, he knew he had to take it. He knew, no matter what, he had to kill Sarah.

So, he did. He did, and he didn't regret it. In his books, that was the definition of a murder.

"Cal," he heard Hayley call him and looked to where her voice came from. All his friends had come, but the others kept their distance while Hayley made her way over. He expected her to be mad. He had been gone a whole day without telling her, or anyone where he was. Hayley wasn't mad, though. Not at first, at least. She pulled him in, hugging him tight.

Maybe she was still a little mad. His body was still recovering and so he was still very sore. Light contact was about all he could manage, but she squeezed him tight. He didn't say anything. He deserved to feel more pain than that.

"How did you find me?" he asked, certain that by avoiding all his usual places, she wouldn't know where he was.

"Preston told us what happened," Hayley said. "And before you get mad at him, you have to remember you're the one who ran away."

"So how did you know to find me here?"

"This is where you had that accident," Hayley said and pointed to the intersection. She remembered hearing about the accident, and feeling grateful that it hadn't been worse. Calvin had only suffered minor injuries and didn't need to stay in the hospital. Sarah only needed to stay because of her previous head injury, as doctors didn't want to take any chances. "You blamed yourself for what happened to Sarah that day too."

"This is different," Calvin said. "This time, I did kill her. It wasn't some drunk kids after homecoming, it was me."

"I know."

"I'm okay," Calvin told her. "I'm getting better. I'm strong enough to walk here and look after myself for a night. You don't have to stay."

"Calvin…"

"Hayley, I killed her," Calvin said. "I did it, I wanted to do it…"

"Yeah, because you were being tortured," Hayley said. "You weren't in your right mind."

"I'm not being tortured now and… I still would have done it."

Hayley frowned, unsure of what he meant. Was he telling her that if he was given the choice right now, he would kill his friend, or saying that now, even with a clear head, he didn't regret his decision. There was a huge difference. Hayley needed to know what he meant.

"So, do it," she said and pointed to the others. "Preston's pretty banged up, it wouldn't be too hard to finish him off. You were always a better fighting than him anyway."

"Hayley…"

"Kelly's pretty good, but once you get her out of that chair, she's like a fish out of water. Kick the crap out of her a little bit and see how long it takes for her to die."

"Are you nuts?"

"You've probably just got to give Sarah a good whack on the head. We're lucky she's not already dead," Hayley said. "Maybe if you finish her off, we can get a new pink Ranger. One who isn't broken."

"You know we can hear you, right?" Sarah called out. Hayley waved her off as she looked to Calvin, glad to see that he was horrified by those words. She took his hands, "Cal, you're not a killer."

"Future Sarah might say otherwise," Calvin said. "And it's not like I picked her because I knew she'd be waiting for us when we got back. I picked her because the guard said to kill her. I'd have killed Preston too if I was asked."

"You were hurt."

"I'm a Ranger!" Calvin shouted. "The only reason you're forgiving me is because it was Sarah. If it had been anyone else, anyone who wouldn't come back to life after we got home, you'd never be able to look at me the same again."

"Cal…"

"I killed someone, Hayley," Calvin growled as he got up from the bench. "And not just anyone, either. It wasn't like it was some stranger. Someone I didn't know or like. I killed one of my best friends and I'm glad I did it. What does that say about me?"

"You were being tortured."

"It says you can't count on me," Calvin said. "What if that had been you, Hayley? We're still fighting Oedius. We're still going to get ourselves into trouble. What if I'm hurting again and this time we don't have time travel to depend on. What if she asks me to kill you and I…"

"You wouldn't."

"I also never thought I'd kill Sarah," Calvin growled. "But I did. I did it and there's no way I could promise I wouldn't do it again."

"You're not a killer," Hayley told him, but Calvin shook his head. He wouldn't hear it.

"I'm sorry, Hayley."

"Cal…"

Calvin looked to Hayley apologetically as she started to cry. He hated that he had caused her this pain, but if he couldn't trust himself, then it wasn't safe for his friends to trust him. He wished her good luck as the white Ranger, then turned to leave.

"Calvin, wait!" Brody called out as he, Preston, Levi and Kelly came to Hayley's side to offer comfort. Sarah rushed over as well, gave Hayley's shoulder a slight, comforting squeeze, then raced after the yellow Ranger.

"Calvin…"

"Sarah, drop it," he growled. He tried to keep walking but with his limp he wasn't fast. While Sarah had a few injuries of her own from her kidnapping, she was doing much better than he was. She could easily outwalk him.

"We have to talk about this."

"No," Calvin shook his head. "I get you weren't there, you don't remember what happened, but I did it. I killed you. You should be the last person talking to me right now."

"Well I'm not," Sarah frowned. "And it's not fair to Hayley for you to dump her over this. She deserves the chance to talk this out."

"I… Goodbye, Sarah."

Sarah glared at Calvin. She looked back to her team, seeing they were comforting Hayley. Knowing the white Ranger would be okay, and seeing she got a nod from Kelly, Sarah turned away from them and followed Calvin. He groaned loudly when he realized he wasn't going to be able to shake her.

"What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?" he asked. "Do you want me to kill you again?"

"I dare you," Sarah told him. Calvin simply turned away. He tried to run, but Sarah followed. He turned a few corners, going down alleys, but Sarah continued to keep up.

"Go back to the others."

"And leave you alone?" Sarah frowned. "No way. Oedius is still out there."

"I'm not a Ranger."

"Tell her that. I didn't have my Power Star and she still came after me."

"But…"

"Two Powerless Rangers are better than one," Sarah shrugged.

"You're really irritating."

"Am I?" Sarah asked. "Am I really being that annoying?"

"Seriously, stop."

"Make me," Sarah demanded. Calvin finally made his way to Nitro and jumped into the front seat. Sarah raced around so she could hop into the passenger seat. When Calvin saw she was in the truck with him, he groaned.

"Seriously?" he asked. Sarah nodded her head.

"Where are we going?"

"You're getting out."

"Nope."

"I'll drop you off at home."

"I'll tell Shane what you did."

"Fine, do it."

"He won't let you leave."

"Then I'll drop you off at Gia's and she can arrest me."

"For killing me. While I'm standing there. Healthy as a horse."

"Seriously, Sarah…"

"I'm not leaving until we have a team discussion about this. Until we get to decide, for ourselves, what happens after this."

"I don't want to be a Ranger."

"Then I'm not leaving," Sarah said. She put her seatbelt on and smiled at Calvin. "So where are we going?"

"You're nuts."


	3. Talk It Out

Preston could understand Calvin. Maybe he was the only one. He knew what it felt like to be in the game room, and he knew the guilt that he felt over what happened. He hadn't killed Sarah, but if he had to trade places with Calvin, he would have done the same thing.

Preston felt lucky, though. His teammates, especially Sarah, had forgiven him right away. There would be the conversation that followed. He was sure that though he was forgiven, it would be a long time before the incident was forgotten. Still, he was glad to know that his friends were willing to hear him out, and weren't about to dump him on the side of the road.

He told them about the pain; about the torture that the guards had forced him, Calvin, and Sarah to endure. He mentioned how he wished for it to end, and how he didn't care if it ended with his death. He told them how the pain was so bad, he was willing to do anything to make it stop. It was at that moment that the deal came up. If Calvin killed Sarah, the pain would stop.

He told them how he was shocked at first. He made sure they knew that the first thought to cross his mind was how sick this arrangement was. Sarah was his best friend, he couldn't imagine losing her.

But the guard was clear. This was the only way the pain would stop, so, earlier than he cared to admit, he found himself changing his mind. Perhaps killing one of them off wasn't a bad idea.

"You weren't there," Preston said. "I know how bad it sounds but…"

"It was torture," Brody said. "I saw it happen on the ship all the time. Prisoners admitted to things they didn't do under torture, just to get it to stop."

Preston felt reassured hearing that. At least his friends understood the circumstances.

"I knew it wasn't right," he explained, then told them how, despite that, he still wanted Sarah dead. He told them how he was in so much pain, he would do anything to make it stop, and how if Calvin didn't kill her, he would. He told them how Calvin hesitated, and how Sarah begged. He told them about Calvin setting down the weapon he had been given. How Calvin lured Sarah into a false sense of security. He told them how Calvin had fooled him into thinking he wouldn't do it, and the anguish that Preston felt thinking they would have to suffer more.

He told them how Calvin took Sarah into his arms and held her, "It looked gentle," he said. "I… I don't think he wanted to hurt her."

It made sense to Hayley. Calvin was a sweet and gentle soul. He hated to see her sick because he knew she was in pain and uncomfortable, and he always did everything he could to ease that as much as possible. It didn't make sense that he would kill and let his victim suffer. If he had to kill, she was sure he would do it as quickly and painlessly as possible.

"Sarah was crying one second and the next… she was dead. I don't think she saw it coming. I… I'm glad Calvin did it because… I don't think I would have been strong enough to do it that way."

Preston then looked to the Prism, which was still holding his blue Power Star, "I understand if you don't want me on the team anymore. When the pressure was on… I caved. As a team, I know we need to be able to trust each other, and if you can't… I do get it."

"It's… difficult," Levi said. "We were in such a twisted situation…"

"But it's not like it'll never happen again. Oedius is still out there, and we know she doesn't hold back. She's a cold-blooded killer and now that we know the Power Stars need us alive for them to have Powers, it's not like she'll just kill us off. She might torture us, and if she does…"

"Preston, can I ask you something?" Mick interrupted, and Preston nodded his head. That was when Mick took out a recipe book. "So, I was making cookies the other day…"

"Mick, I don't think right now is the time to…"

"I was making cookies," Mick said, ignoring Kelly, "And… you see, the recipe calls for me to cook them at 350 for about ten minutes. And I knew that, but you see… I accidently cooked them for a lot longer than that, and… well…"

Mick showed his hand, which he had transformed to look like a burned batch of cookies. "Well, it kinda turned out like this."

"What are you saying, Mick?" Levi asked.

"I'm just asking about the cookies," Mick said. "We're talking about something pretty heavy and… well, everyone likes cookies, right? But I made my first batch and I overcooked them."

"So, you can try again," Preston suggested.

"Right," Mick nodded. "I'll try again, I'll mix up all the right ingredients, just like I did last time. I'll set the temperature to 350, just like last time, and I'll let them bake for half an hour again, just like last time."

"No, Mick," Preston shook his head. "Last time you did that, they burned," Preston said and pointed to the blacked batch. "If you do it again, you'll get the same result."

"Right…" Mick said. "So… I should mix all the right ingredients again, and still set the temperature to 350, but instead of repeating my mistake… I should…"

"Maybe not bake them as long," Preston said. Mick nodded his head.

"So, even under the same circumstances… if I fix my mistake… I can do better?"

"Right."

"But what about this batch?" Mick asked. "Do I still serve these burned cookies to my friends, even though I know they aren't good."

"No."

"I give them the better ones?" Mick asked, and Preston nodded his head. Mick smiled, "So… why can't you do the same?"

"Bake cookies?" Preston frowned. "Mick, I don't think cookies are enough to…"

"You made a mistake," Mick told the blue Ranger. "And just like how my mistake burned the cookies, your mistake hurt your friends. But you're not going to repeat it, right?"

"I…"

"You're going to take that mistake, and you'll fix it," Mick said. "So maybe next time, you'll know what to do differently."

"Are there actually cookies?" Kelly asked Mick. "Because now I'm hungry."

Mick chuckled, "Preston, I can't say what you did can be as easily forgotten as a batch of burned cookies but… we're lucky your mistake happened when it did. We're lucky that by coming home, Sarah's death was reversed, and she had no memory of what you've done."

"Yeah, but…"

"This might happen again," Mick said. "Oedius… we can't count on her to play nice. But you know how you reacted to a difficult situation. You know what you did that you regret, and now you know what you need to work on to fix it. The question isn't whether you'll repeat, your mistakes. The question is: are you going to work to change it?"

The Rangers all nodded their heads and turned to Preston. That was, essentially, what they wanted to know from the blue Ranger. Could they count on him to learn from what happen? Could they be able to trust that he would work on making himself stronger so that if there was a next time, he would be able to make a better decision.

Preston knew the guilt he felt, and he knew he never wanted to let his teammates down again. Since coming home, he had been so grateful that his mistake had been erased, and that he hadn't lost his best friend. He didn't want that all to be for nothing.

"I don't want it to happen again," Preston said. "I… I promise, I'll do everything I can, so it doesn't."

"Words don't mean much unless they're followed by action," Mick said. "Preston, what are you going to do to show your friends that you will have their back, no matter what?"

"I'll train, I'll fight, I'll do anything," Preston said, then looked to his Star, "And I won't be the blue Ranger again until they know they can trust me."

"Until you can trust yourself," Brody said. He looked to Mick, "Preston and Calvin may have been the ones in the room but… I think we're all a bit to blame for what happened. We came up with this plan together. We knew they would be in a tough position."

"Maybe next time we consider all the possibilities?" Levi suggested. "We make sure whatever happens, we're up for it. Otherwise, we don't do it."

"We were all a bit eager to get home," Kelly said. "I mean… I know why I was. I know Sarah was in so much pain and I wanted it all to stop. I would have done anything too."

"Rangers, you're a team," Mick said. "At the end of the day, it's up to you what you choose to do."

"I don't want my Power Star back until I know this won't happen again," Preston said. "But… I won't leave you guys stranded. Once I'm ready, I'll start training again. I'll do whatever it takes to make myself better and I promise, you'll have a blue Ranger you can trust again."

-Ninja-Steel-

Calvin couldn't get rid of her. It was like the more he tried to push her away, the closer she stayed. He had driven to her home, and demanded she get out of the car, but she stayed, saying she wouldn't get out. He had gotten out, opened her door, and commanded her out, but she stayed.

He drove away, bit recklessly, hoping she wouldn't feel safe and she would ask him to drop her off. Then he remembered he was driving with Sarah Thompson. Reckless, dangerous; it didn't scare her. It gave her a thrill. Perhaps if he had been driving Preston, or Kelly, they would have been scared, but Sarah thrived off this.

Not to mention, Calvin was a cautious driver. He had suffered a Go-Karting accident as a kid that left him scared of driving and after finally conquering that fear, he had found himself in a serious accident once again. His reckless was probably casual driving for Sarah.

Either way, by the time they stopped at the spot where Calvin had planned on spending the night, Sarah was still with him.

"At least help me set up the tent," he asked her as he jumped out of his truck. Sarah followed.

"Why did you break up with Hayley?"

Calvin groaned. He really didn't feel like talking about this.

"If you're on her side, you should probably be comforting her, not following me around," Calvin handed her the bag with the tent. They had been on a camping trip once with school, and while he had later found out that he and Hayley had been with one of Sarah's clones, he knew the clones could only do what Sarah could do herself. The clone had set up the tent in a matter of minutes and so he figured she was the better choice for getting the tent up.

"Kelly's comforting her," Sarah said. "I'm here wondering why you're blowing the best relationship any of us have ever seen."

"And I don't want to talk about it," Calvin told her. "I'm not the yellow Ranger anymore. And I get with Oedius still out there you're worry but she needs us alive if she wants our Power Stars to work."

Sarah started with the tent while Calvin unpacked the rest of the trunk. He had some food and some other camping supplies that he would need if he was going to be spending some time on his own. He set them down, then started to dig a spot for a firepit.

"You won't even talk to us, Cal," Sarah said. "Preston told us what happened. I know you killed me."

"And you forgive me because you're a saint?"

"I'm pretty pissed, actually," Sarah shrugged. "But at the same time, I wasn't in that room with you. I don't know why you chose to do what you did, or if it even was a choice."

"It was."

"So, tell me what happened," Sarah begged him.

"No."

"Done!" Sarah exclaimed, and Calvin looked up to see the tent was all set up. With a sigh, he shook his head.

"You'll really have to teach me how to do that," he said.

"After you tell me what happened in that room."

"No."

"Calvin…"

"I killed you, Sarah," Calvin told her. "I don't understand why the others are so insistent we talk this out. I really don't get why you're willing to follow me, out into the middle of nowhere, with the intent to piss me off."

"Are you going to kill me?" Sarah asked, and Calvin shook his head.

"No."

"But you're a killer?"

"Yes."

"But you won't kill me?"

"No."

"Even though you have killed me?"

"Yes."

"But you won't."

"No."

"So, I'm supposed to be afraid of the guy who killed me because he won't kill me?" Sarah asked. "Okay, Calvin, I trash-talked Galvanax to his face the day we met him, and he actually wanted to hurt me. You think I'm going to fear the guy who won't kill me?"

"I have killed you."

"But you're not a killer," Sarah shook her head.

"This would be a lot easier if you were mad at me," Calvin told her and rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one being unreasonable, you know."

"So, you want me to be mad?"

"Yes."

"How dare you," Sarah growled. She approached Calvin and then shoved him into the ground. He looked a little hurt at first, likely because of the cuts and bruises, but then he seemed relieved.

"Thank you," he muttered, but Sarah shook her head.

"How dare you run off like that, without telling _anyone_ where you're going, and make Hayley wonder if you're even still alive when all she wants to do is make sure you're okay."

Calvin groaned loudly. "You're supposed to be pissed at me for killing you. Not for breaking up with Hayley."

"I can't be pissed at you for killing me, I don't know why you did it," Sarah frowned. "So tell me why you did it, and why I should be pissed, and then maybe I'll run away scared."

"You won't run away scared, will you?"

Sarah smirked and shook her head, "Nah, you're like Preston. You're more squishy than scary."

"You're really not going to leave me alone until I talk?" Calvin asked. "Like, you'll be here…"

"I'm assuming you only packed one sleeping bag," Sarah nodded. "And I tend to get a little cold at night, so…"

"Okay, fine!" Calvin said. "You win, I'll tell you."

"I don't know why you're so upset about the sleeping arrangements, though," Sarah frowned. "You snore, not me."


	4. Campfire Chats

The sun had long since set. It was dark at Calvin's campsite, but he did have a roaring fire going to give him some light. It reminded him of the night the Rangers spent in the wastelands, only this time he didn't have as much to fear.

Sarah was sitting opposite to him, and despite him sharing with her every gruesome detail of how he killed her, she was happily roasting a hotdog over the fire. When it was done, she offered it to him. He declined.

"You're nuts. Are you seriously not mad at me?"

Sarah shrugged. Hearing the story, she felt more sympathy than anger. Of course, it made her a little uncomfortable to know that there was a point at which Calvin would turn on her. She would have to be a little more careful now with trusting him. However, his actions since coming home told her she had very little to worry about. He had killed her, but he wasn't a killer. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

She remembered suffering. She remembered being in pain. She remembered when her mother and Drex had kidnapped her with the intention of using her as their newest prostitute. She remembered being broken in, and how she would have done anything she could to get herself out of that situation. She remembered being in so much pain, she couldn't think straight. She hadn't been presented with the option to kill someone, but she couldn't be sure what she would have done if she had.

She remembered being kidnapped by her brother Thomas, and the pain he made her endure while he waited for their mother to be released. She remembered wishing him dead, though she never got to act on her thoughts. She remembered Kelly's mother and her torture with the shock collar. The only reason Sarah hadn't wanted to kill her was because, despite everything, she was still Kelly's mom.

Sarah wouldn't have gone through with her thoughts on murder, but if the circumstances had been slightly different, or if she had been given the right opportunity at the right time, maybe murder would have been her go-to. After all, everyone had a breaking point.

Though she was mad that Calvin had reached his, and she was mad that he had gone through with the kill, she wasn't all that mad. She didn't hate him. They would just need to re-evaluate their relationship, so she could be sure that in the future, she could trust him.

"Probably won't let myself be locked in a torture room with you again," she answered him, and since he hadn't taken the hot-dog, she kept it for herself. She picked up a bun and started to assemble her dinner. "Do you regret what you did?"

"Honestly?" he asked. Sarah nodded her head. He sighed. She wouldn't want to hear the truth, but he had already promised no secrets. "No."

Ouch. That did hurt Sarah. Calvin too. He looked to the pink Ranger.

"I regret agreeing to be in that position in the first place," Calvin said. "But what I did… I don't think you understand the pain, Sarah."

"I've been hurt a few times," Sarah nodded.

"It was the only way to make it stop," Calvin said. "The guards… We thought Oedius was bad, the people who worked for her are worse. They don't care about us, or the Power Stars. They only care about keeping people in line, and doing what Oedius told them to do. She said she wanted us to suffer and that's exactly what they did. If I didn't do it, the pain wouldn't just keep going for me, but for Preston, and for you. You were in that room too, Sarah and…"

"You just wanted the pain to stop?"

Calvin nodded his head, then wiped away a few tears as the moment played over again in his head. He remembered hearing the instructions to kill Sarah, and being told it was his only way out. He remembered holding the weapon in his hands, and debating in his head if this was the right thing. He remembered looking to Preston, and then at Sarah.

He remembered her begging. She begged so much for her life. It didn't matter that she had suffered for a year. It didn't matter that she was on the brink of death already. It didn't matter that this torture would continue – Sarah wanted to live. Calvin took that from her.

He looked to his hands – the same hands he used to kill her. Tears flooded his eyes at this point and he couldn't make them stop. He hated what he had done. He hated that he had betrayed one of his best friends. He hated even more that, if the roles were reversed, he knew she wouldn't kill him.

"Calvin…"

"Sarah, I'm sorry," he whispered. Sarah set her hot-dog down and came around the fire to sit next to him. She wrapped her arms around him as he started to sob. He hated that she couldn't trust him. He hated that he couldn't trust himself. He hated that he knew, under the right circumstances, he could turn on his best friends.

"We can fix this," Sarah told him. "But Cal… you have to stop thinking of yourself as a killer."

"But I killed you."

"You killed me," Sarah nodded. "But you won't do it again."

"You don't know that."

"I do," Sarah insisted. "I know because of how much you're beating yourself up right now. Besides, it's not like you're the only Ranger with a bit of blood on their hands."

"Did Gia and Serena tell you about another Ranger who killed a teammate?"

"No. They didn't have to," Sarah said. She pulled away from Calvin, sat in front of him and made him look at her. "My holo-clones."

"Sarah, that's different."

"It's not," Sarah said. "You all rushed back to the base and once you found out it was all just clones, you told me my technology was still out there. You asked if we should get it. I said it was fine. I made that call and it turns out, that's the call that got hundreds of people killed."

"Galvanax…"

"You can say what you want about my technology not being intended for killing. You can say it was Galvanax who killed those people but you and I both know that if we had gone back to get my sphere, none of that would have happened. My family, and thousands of other families, wouldn't have had to suffer that day. You made a call, Calvin, and you regret it. And because I know you, because I know you're a good person, I know you're never going to let that happen again."

"What about Hayley?" he asked. "What's she going to think now that she's dating someone who killed?"

"I don't know," Sarah shrugged. "You haven't given her much of a chance to tell you what she thinks."

"She probably hates me."

"I wouldn't rule it out," Sarah agreed. "But… at the same time, she was worried sick about you when we didn't know where you were. Preston told us what happened and… all she wanted was to know you were okay. So, she might be pissed, and maybe this break up thing is permanent but… do you really want to leave things without giving her a say? Are you that much of a jerk?"

"Kind comes with the killing territory, I guess."

"Calvin, come on."

"I'm scared, Sarah," Calvin said. "Hayley is… amazing. She's the best thing to ever happen to me. She's just… she's the best. How can I face her after what I've done?"

"So, you want me to pass on the message?" Sarah asked. "It's over? Hope you find another boyfriend who isn't a murdering jerk? Have a good life?"

"You don't have to put it like that," Calvin said, then Sarah slapped him. He cried out painfully. "OW! Watch the… everything."

"You're a dick."

"Sarah…"

"You killed me, asshole. You don't get to take the easy way out. Hayley wants to talk about it, so you suck it up, and you face the consequences. If you're not a jerk, you're going to make this easier for her."

"Yeah, but…" Calvin started, but Sarah smacked him again. "OW! Hey, okay, at least I killed you painlessly. I'm still sore."

"You're going to break things off with her like a gentleman," Sarah told him. "And you're going to listen to what she wants, and you're not going to be a jackass about it."

"But…" Sarah only had to hold her hand up this time. Calvin flinched, then sighed. "You're right."

"Finally."

"Can you… be there, though?" Calvin asked. "Not just for me but… for Hayley too."

"I really think you should figure your shit out alone," Sarah said. "If you're gonna break up, you'll break up, but if she wants to stick it out…"

"I don't want her to lose the team."

"Let her make her own choices." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Whatever decision she chooses to make, and how it'll effect her relationship with us is between her and us. You just worry about doing what's right by her."

"Will you dump her?"

"I haven't dumped you," Sarah answered. "And you killed me. Pretty sure if I'm still going to hang out with my killer, I can handle hanging out with his girlfriend too."

"So, we're cool?"

"We'll get to it," Sarah told him. She grabbed another hot-dog and jammed it on her stick. Then she held it out over the fire. "Did you bring ice-cream?"

"We're camping."

"Buy me ice-cream tomorrow on the way back," Sarah said. "Also, bring some for Hayley."


	5. Tent Talks

Calvin wasn't very tired that night. While he loved camping, it was always a bit difficult to adjust to sleeping in a tent. However, it wasn't his sleeping conditions that kept him up. He knew Sarah was right. He knew that he had to talk about what he had done with Hayley. She already knew most of what happened through Preston, but the only person who could share Calvin's account was Calvin. Hayley deserved to hear his side of the story. She deserved to have all the information before any permanent decisions were made.

Although, Calvin wasn't sure the truth would change his mind. He loved Hayley and couldn't imagine life without her. However, though she might one day forgive him, he wasn't sure he could forgive himself just yet. And until he could, he wasn't sure he wanted to put Hayley in any danger. He had turned on one of his best friends. He knew he had a limit, and he would only forgive himself for that once he was confident that wouldn't happen again.

"Hayley, your love, your support, have meant the world to me, and it still does," he said to himself as he practiced what he was going to say. "You're kind, and smart, and fun, and beautiful and just the best person I've ever met. But until I know for sure that what happened will never happen again, and until I know I won't be a danger to you, or any of our friends, I think it's better if we get some space."

He sighed. She would argue with him, if she forgave him, of course. She always had good arguments, and he was always left feeling like he couldn't do much more than babble. He knew he had to stay strong, though. He didn't want her to put all her trust in him when he couldn't even trust himself. He had to be okay with hurting her a little bit, if it came to it. She would have Sarah, and Kelly, and the other guys to help her through it. Hopefully, the Prism would pick someone else to be the yellow Ranger too, so they would have a full team.

When he was sure he knew what he wanted to say, he shut his eyes to sleep. Almost as soon as he did, he was back in the game room, with Sarah begging him not to kill her and that feeling in his gut that told him he had to. With a gasp, he opened his eyes. He forgot how difficult it would be to forget at night. He forgot that the worst of his memories always came back at night.

He took a few breaths as he tried to calm himself down and looked to Sarah. In a way, what happened wasn't much more than a nightmare. It was a future that no longer existed and as a result, Sarah was no longer dead. She didn't have the same memories as him or Preston.

Maybe that was why it was so easy for her to forgive him. Maybe if she knew, she wouldn't be sleeping next to him, in the same tent, with the same sleeping bag.

He wanted to tell himself that he wouldn't hurt her. That now he knew the pain of living with the guilt was worse than the torture he had endured. Now, he had to look into the eyes of the person he killed everyday, knowing that she forgave him because she had no memory of what happened.

He shook his head. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't hurt her."

"_I'm sorry,"_ his brain remembered the exact moment he did kill her. He shook his head.

"_Please, don't," _she begged, but he did it anyway.

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Please, Calvin. Please!"_ it didn't matter how much she begged. Calvin didn't want to be in this position, but he never reconsidered killing her. It never occurred to him to try something else. HE had never been in more pain in his life than in that moment, so what did it matter if he turned on the guard and lost? Why hadn't he considered using the weapon to free himself and his friends? Why was it, as soon as he was presented with the option to kill his friend, he did it?"

_Because you're a killer,_ his brain told him. Calvin couldn't deny it.

Suddenly, there was a scream from right next to him. Calvin jumped up in terror, surprised by the noise, then turned to Sarah. She wasn't awake, but she was crying out and desperately trying to catch her breath. Calvin turned to her and tried to wake her. It took a moment, but she did open her eyes. She looked up at Calvin in terror and for a second, he thought maybe, somehow, she remembered what he did.

Then, Sarah threw herself into his arms and hugged him tight. She was still trying to catch her breath, but she didn't seem to be panicked just yet. Calvin was caught off guard by the hug, but eventually did put his arms around her.

"You're safe," he told her. It just slipped out. He had killed her, but here he was telling her she was safe. He meant it but… he shouldn't have promised it. Under the right circumstances, he knew what he could do. "Are you okay?"

"There's no building on top of me?" Sarah nodded as she continued to cling to him, like her left depended on it.

"No," he told her. "You're fine. We're in a tent. There's no buildings for a few miles."

He was still holding her, protecting her, though there was no danger. They were the only people around, the tent was sturdy, the weather was good, and he didn't want to hurt her. He knew she was safe, but he still protected her. He was her killer, but he would protect her.

"It's was just a nightmare," he told her. "You're safe."

Finally, Sarah let him go. Calvin reached for the flashlight and turned it on, lighting up the tent. His eyes needed a minute to adjust, but when they did he looked to Sarah. She was pale and shivering – likely from the fear, but he slipped out of the sleeping bag and wrapped it around her and keep her warm.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked. Sarah shrugged.

"It's fine. It's happened a lot."

"Nightmares?" Calvin asked. Sarah nodded her head.

"Drex, my birth mom, dad, Thomas, Oedius, the workshop collapsing," Sarah shrugged. "Usually one or more make an appearance."

"This time it was the building collapse?" Calvin asked. He assumed because she had asked if she was under a building. Sarah nodded again.

"I was trapped underneath," she said. "I couldn't get out, I couldn't breathe, no one was looking for me."

Calvin shook his head. He remembered that day. He remembered the panic he felt build up inside him with every passing second. Sarah had been in the Romero workshop with her parents. The plan was to help her father escape Oedius, but also make him understand that he had burned his bridge with his family. They wouldn't only help him start a new life and stay away from the monster controlling him. He needed to leave them behind. Calvin had been with the other Rangers, training on the other side of the property to give them space. They had no idea Oedius knew about the Romero farm and never imagined that she would show up and so quickly blow the workshop to pieces.

Calvin remembered he watched it explode. Calvin remembered knowing Sarah was inside. He remembered running so quickly, he wasn't sure his legs could keep up. He remembered digging, and digging. He remembered knowing that Jenny and Bill were in the rubble, but he needed to find Sarah.

Bill was found first, then Jenny. Calvin dug, and dug, and dug until Preston announced that he found her. Calvin was sure he had teleported from his spot over to Preston as they slowly, and very carefully pulled Sarah out of the rubble. Bill was already dead by the time Sarah was pulled out, and Gia already had a couple ambulances on the way.

Calvin remembered the agonizing waits. First, it was the wait for the ambulance. Then, it was waiting in the hospital for an update – any update. They waited through surgery, to hear whether Sarah would have a chance of surviving it or not. Jenny was already dead at this point.

After the surgery, there was more waiting. They waited to see if her body was strong enough to survive the surgery, then they waited to see if she would wake up. After she woke up, they waited to see if she was still Sarah, or if the damage to her head was too extensive. When they were told she was okay, they waited for her to be strong enough for visitors. They waited for her to be strong enough to be moved out of ICU, and then they waited for her to be strong enough to go home.

Once she was home, they waited for Sarah to be Sarah once again. Calvin missed his pink, little sister. He missed teasing her, and her teasing him back. He missed getting her ice-cream, and picking her up before school. He missed having three girls in his truck talking about things he didn't want to know about. He missed that, while she wasn't a mechanic and he wasn't an engineer, their passions aligned just enough for them to understand each other.

"I was looking for you," he assured her. "Sarah, I… I'm sorry."

"For my nightmare?"

"I'm sorry I killed you," he said and he saw Sarah roll her eyes. In fact, he was pretty sure he saw her eyes roll all the way back into her head.

"Calvin…"

"I'm never going to let anything like that happen again," he said. Sarah looked up at him.

"You killing me?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked her. Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

"For the most part," she nodded. "I trust that if there's a monster behind me that I don't see, you'll step in and stop him. I know you don't actually want me dead."

"I don't."

"I know."

"You know, when we train," Calvin said. "You know how Hayley and I often partner up."

"And Kelly and I partner up, and Brody and Levi partner up and Preston's… usually the third wheel."

"I want to change that."

"Me too, that's not fair to Preston."

"I meant, why don't you and I be partners?" Calvin suggested. "I want to work on trusting myself and having you guys trust me. If we can create scenarios where I need to make life or death decisions again and I start making the right choices, maybe you'll learn to trust me again and I'll know I can trust myself?"

"What about Preston?"

"He… he can join us too, I guess," Calvin said. He looked to Sarah with a smile and took her hands. "When the workshop exploded, and none of us knew what happened to you, or if you'd pull through, that was probably the scariest moment of my life."

"Really?" Sarah asked. Calvin nodded his head.

"You're one of my best friends," he said. "I don't like to see any of my best friends hurting. I hate it even more when I don't know if they'll be okay."

"So, what are you going to tell Hayley?" Sarah asked.

"That I'm working on it," Calvin said. "That if I can't trust myself with you, I don't want to do anything to risk her safety."

"You really think, in any situation, you'd hurt Hayley?" Sarah asked him.

"I never thought I'd kill you, but I did. Clearly…"

"You're not in love with me, Cal," Sarah said. "Sure, we love each other in the friends way, but there's a reason we're comfortable sharing a sleeping bag, in a tent, in the middle of nowhere. What we have doesn't even compare to what you have with Hayley, or what I have with Kelly, for that matter."

"So?"

"You'd have killed yourself before letting any harm come to Hayley," Sarah said. "You're just scared she'll want to break up with you and that'll hurt."

"I…"

"Calvin, tell me right now, if it had been Hayley instead of me, would you have killed her?" Sarah asked. "And I promise, whatever you tell me, it'll stay in this tent and I won't be more than just mildly offended."

"Mildly offended?"

"Dude, you killed me."

Calvin nodded, then took a moment to think about the game room again. This time, instead of Sarah, he imagined Hayley. His girlfriend couldn't even begin to beg for her life for it to be too much for Calvin and he had to stop. He shook his head.

"I… I can't do it," he said. "It's Hayley, it's permanent, it's…"

"Permanent?"

"Yeah," Calvin nodded. "I killed you and as long as we went home, you'd be alive again. If I killed Hayley… there would be no more Hayley. Not that the permanency thing really matters but…"

"No, Calvin, it does," Sarah nodded. "In the game room, you knew that as long as you went home, I'd be okay, right?"

"The torture kind of messed with my head a lot but… I knew if I got out of that room, everything would be okay," Calvin answered. Sarah looked to him with a smirk.

"Is it possible that made killing me easier?" she asked.

"I…"

"I mean, you've got a pocket knife," Sarah said and pointed to the side of the tent, where Calvin had dumped his clothes. In his pants, she knew he had a pocket knife, as he had used it to cut open the package of hot-dogs for dinner. She reached for it, took out the blade, and then held it over her hand. Calvin looked to her with a frown.

"What are you doing?"

She brought the knife down on her hand. Calvin quickly snatched it from her before she could hurt herself.

"Are you nuts?" he called out. Sarah smiled.

"I had a nightmare; your first instinct was to comfort me. I try to drag a knife across my hand in a painful, yet non-lethal manner, and you stop me. You're literally the worst killer in the world."

"I…"

"Maybe you wanted to kill me, Cal, but I have to believe that a part of you knew, if you did that, you'd come home. The torture would stop, you and Preston would find your way back to the others, you'd come home and everything would be fine."

"You believe that?" Calvin asked. Sarah reached for the knife, but he held it out of her grasp. "No! You're stupid with this thing."

"Seriously, worst killer."

"So… what do I tell Hayley?"

"The truth," Sarah told him. "And if she breaks up with you, deal with it. But don't go using the killer thing as a reason to break up with her."

"Do you think she will break up with me?" Calvin asked, a bit fearfully. Sarah shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean… I wouldn't blame her, but I hope not," she said. "Kelly and I wouldn't have a couple to double date with."

"Is that the only reason you like us together?"

"And, since my girlfriend lives with your girlfriend, you pick me up for school," Sarah smiled. "That means I can sleep in a little bit and stay up later working on some of my projects."

"That's why you want us together?" Calvin asked. Sarah nodded her head then lay back down to sleep.

"Good night, Cal."

"Seriously, that's the only reason? Because you can double date and I can drive?" Calvin asked, but Sarah closed her eyes. He shook her awake. "Really?"

"Judging by the fact that it's getting brighter in here, we only have a few more hours of sleep before you have to go face your girlfriend," Sarah said. "I'd really like to get some non-nightmarish shut eye in before then."

"Sarah…" the pink Ranger interrupted him with an obvious fake snore. Calvin chuckled and shook his head. "We'll talk about this on the way back, then."


	6. Oedius' New Plan

Hayley wasn't exactly excited for this talk with Calvin. She did want to know what had happened to him in the game room, and she wanted to be sure he was okay, but after the break-up, and Calvin refusing to speak with her about it, she was still feeling rather emotional.

Still, she followed Calvin when he led her out of Ninja Ops. She walked with him, around the Ribbon Tree Park. He explained everything, from the torture he had endured, to the request the guard made, and the promise he made with it, to every thought that passed through his head when he killed Sarah.

He told her about the guilt he felt – how he didn't think he could trust himself when times were tough. He told her how he was scared that if something like that happened again, that he was scared that he would let her down.

He told her all of it, and for Hayley, it was a bit overwhelming, but she listened anyway.

"I didn't… mean to hurt you, yesterday," Calvin told her. "I just… that's really what I was trying to avoid."

"So instead you just leave?"

"I know. That was stupid."

"I was worried sick about you."

"I'm sorry."

"And I had to hear about all this from Preston?" Hayley frowned. "I mean… that's probably the part that hurts the most."

"Really?" Calvin asked. "Not the killing Sarah part?"

"That's between you and her," Hayley shook her head. "Honestly, Calvin, we're supposed to be partners. When times get tough, we need to be able to lean on each other."

"I know."

"And did you really think I wouldn't understand you doing something regrettable while being tortured?" Hayley asked. "I mean, I'm not happy about what happened but… seriously? You weren't going to tell me and just… walk away like a wounded puppy?"

"I mean…"

"We could have talked about this. We could have figured out together what to do next, or why it happened, or how to keep it from happening."

"And I'm really sorry about that, Hayley."

"We're supposed to trust each other, and turn to each other for things like this," Hayley said. "You broke that trust."

"So… we are breaking up, then?"

Hayley crossed her arms as she took a minute to think, then she shook her head as she looked up at Calvin, "You'll have to work pretty hard to earn my trust back. You understand that, right?"

"I do."

"And there's nothing else you want to tell me about the torture?" Calvin shook his head. He had told her everything.

"Nothing," he promised. "You know it all."

"And you're going to work on preventing this from happening again?" Hayley asked. "Not just hiding things from me, but killing a teammate?"

"I swear, I'll be Mr. Dependable," Calvin assured her. "I learned my lesson, believe me. As tough as torture was, living knowing I had betrayed one of my best friends was far, far worse."

"Not as bad as what it'll be like if you kill any of our friends again," Hayley warned him. "You hear me, Maxwell."

"I do," Calvin nodded. "So… we're good?"

"I wouldn't say good," Hayley shook her head. "But we're okay. If you don't want to break up, neither do I. I think torture is punishment enough."

"I mean it, Hayl, I'll make things right."

"You can do so with Preston," Hayley nodded. "He's also working to make sure this doesn't happen. In fact, all of us should. We know the lengths Madam Oedius will go to, so we've got to make sure we can stay one step ahead of her."

"Training, then?"

"Let's go," Hayley agreed.

-Ninja-Steel-

If Oedius' latest attack had proven anything to Gia, it was that Oedius was a serious threat. She was glad she had decided to move her work to Summer Cove. She had to leave Rebecca behind to continue to watch over Summer Cove, but she was sure she had left her with a good partner. Orion needed work and liked helping to keep people and the planet safe. He was enjoying his position as a Silver Guardian and he worked well with Rebecca.

However, with Rebecca and Orion staying in Angel Grove, and Troy wanting to keep working in Harwood, there wasn't anyone Gia could trust yet to be her partner. Since she knew she had the Rangers she could lean on when times were tough, she wasn't in the rush to find a partner. She also had Tiger, who was pretty good with watching her back. Until there was a new recruit she felt comfortable with, or until another Ranger wanted to join, she was happy with having Tiger by her side.

As she worked to set up her office, in what was basically just a small office space, she received a text message from Mick. All the Rangers were back together in Ninja Ops and were working on the trust issues caused by the time travel. Gia was glad to hear it. She knew from experience that time travel could cause a lot of trouble, and she knew that Rangers were always better when they were together.

"That's one less thing to worry about," she said and looked to Tiger with a smile. "A strong Ranger team is always a good sign for the city."

Tiger nodded her head, then dragged her plush bed from one corner of the room to the other. She looked to Gia, who sighed.

"I was going to put some chairs there," she told her cat. "It's by the window, people can sit and look outside while they wait for me, or when they want to talk to me or…"

Tiger looked up at her mistress pleadingly. She liked being next to the window because the sun would shine down on her bed, keeping her and the bed warm. While she knew civilians liked to be able to come to HQ for several reasons, including making a report and getting to know the Silver Guardians in case they were ever in trouble, Tiger felt she would use this corner a lot more than any human would.

"Fine," Gia relented, "You can have that corner."

Tiger smirked, then nestled into her bed. Gia shook her head.

"Uh, no, we're not done here. There's another bag in the truck, can you get it for me?"

Tiger grumbled, but she got up and walked outside to the truck. Gia had left the back door open, so Tiger could easily climb in and grab one of the bags that were laying in the back. She picked one of the heavier bags, knowing she could more easily carry it than Gia and then started to make her way back to HQ. However, on her way she sniffed something amazing. She set the bag down by the door and walked down the sidewalk a bit to see what it could be.

She had to turn the corner, but she wasn't very far from HQ and she had her vest on, marking her as a Silver Guardian pet. Most people recognized her now, so they wouldn't freak out when they saw a Tiger roaming the streets, unless they were doing something illegal.

Around the corner was a food truck. Tiger looked around, but there was no one there. The food truck didn't even appear to be open, but she knew she could smell something delicious coming from inside. She walked around to the side door and sniffed at the base of it, trying to see if she could figure out what that smell was. Maybe whoever owned the truck was getting ready to open, and maybe Tiger could earn herself a couple of free pieces of meat.

She pawed at the door. She could hear someone inside, and she could smell food. Finally, the door opened, and a huge piece of uncooked steak was placed in front of her face. Tiger looked to it hungrily, just waiting for the okay to eat it. Before she heard that, though, she heard a cackle. She looked up and recognized Oedius.

She let out a cry and a growl. Monsters weren't instinctually afraid of her, but if she made herself appear threatening, usually they would rethink trying to attack her. Monsters often knew a lot about humans, but neglected the other life that lived on this planet. Oedius didn't seem scared of Tiger, and when the big cat realized this, she knew she was in for a lot of trouble.

Ignoring the free meal, Tiger turned to try and run. She hoped if she made it to Gia, her mistress would know what to do. Tiger didn't get very far though before one of Oedius' monsters appeared before her. Tiger growled, and tried again to appear threatening. It seemed to work a bit on this other monster, but not enough.

Suddenly, she felt something sharp pierce her in the butt. She let out a loud growl, before something stabbed her again between the shoulders. She roared loudly, calling for help, but already she could feel herself getting dizzy and tired.

"Do we take her, Madam Oedius?" Badonna asked. Oedius shook her head.

"Leave her here. That Ranger cop will be here shortly, and we don't want her to know what happened," Oedius said. "The venom will work on it's own."

"And there's no antidote?" Badonna asked. Oedius nodded her head.

"Why would I make one?" she frowned. "Either the venom kills her, or the Rangers do."

With that, Oedius brought herself and Badonna back to the ship. Tiger let out another growl as she felt her body grow heavier and heavier. She couldn't get herself back to HQ. She had to hope Gia could hear her.

Fortunately, Gia had. At the first roar, Gia knew there was something wrong and rushed out to find her cat. Tiger didn't often wander, but sometimes when she was tired or hungry, she could get a little distracted. It had caused a few moments of panic for the cat mom, but usually Tiger was okay. This time, Gia had a sinking feeling.

She rounded the corner and saw Tiger on the ground, curled up, passed out, but obviously in pain. Gia tried to rouse her cub, but Tiger couldn't be awoken.

"Shit," she cursed and looked around. It was early in the morning still. Most people were either already at work, or still in their homes getting ready to go to work. Tiger now weighed around three-hundred pounds. She was far too heavy for Gia to lift by herself.

So, the former yellow Ranger tried to rouse the cat, hoping Tiger would have just enough energy to get herself into the truck and Gia could drive her to a vet. She wasn't sure what happened, but knew Tiger would never opt to nap in the street. However, Tiger still wouldn't wake up.

"Dammit. Dammit!" Gia shouted. "Come on, kitten! Tiger, wake up!"

Emma was too far to help. She was working in Angel Grove. Jake had already left the country for training, and the rest of her teammates were in Harwood. It was too far to drive from there and Tiger needed help now.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket and texted mick back, "_911"_.


	7. The Injured Tiger

Nothing could get Gia to calm down. She paced the floor at the vet's office. Everyone watching her was sure that where she walked had been eroded down at least a centimeter at this point, maybe more. They had already asked her to stop, sit down, and try to calm herself, but Gia knew she couldn't. Not until she knew Tiger would be okay.

It wasn't like there was a list of people who would want to hurt the big cat. Gia had worked with Tiger by her side for a few years now. Everyone in the cities she patrolled, as well as people from neighbouring cities knew that the tiger wandering the streets in a Silver Guardians vest was Gia's tiger. Unless they were doing something illegal, Tiger wouldn't even think to hurt them.

Those who were doing something illegal often didn't want to threaten Tiger at all. She was bigger, faster, stronger, and often smarter than they were. Their guns could hurt her, but not much, and then they would have an angry Gia to deal with once they were caught.

Some people were stupid enough to try and hurt her. Tiger had been stabbed once, and of course, many people felt that they could tease her under the assumption that she couldn't do anything to them if they did. They had to learn the hard way that if they were distracting Tiger, she was allowed to snap at them. So long as she didn't break skin, it wouldn't be excessive force and there wouldn't even be talk of putting the big cat out of duty.

However, unlike other times, there were no visible wounds. There were none on Tiger and no one had stuck around long enough to complain that the cat they were teasing bit them. Someone had gotten close enough to Tiger to hurt her, and got away with it.

Gia already had a team looking into it. Though there weren't many people around, she had officers looking for any witnesses. Anyone who saw or heard something could prove helpful. She had Emma going over security cameras from the area, trying to see if there was an angle that could catch what happened. Her mothers were promising that they would look after Ciara until Gia could be home.

A doctor stepped out. Gia thought it would be an update on Tiger, but he spoke to another pet owner, taking in him and his dog. Gia groaned and finally sat down. Bringing Tiger to a regular vet wasn't ideal. They often weren't trained to handle animals that were bigger than they were, but it was all Gia could do. There was no wildlife vet available on such short notice in Summer Cove, and Gia didn't want to wait for help. Anyone could brush through Tiger's fur and look for a wound, and any doctor could run some blood tests to be sure the cat wasn't sick or poisoned.

"Who would do that?" Levi asked. He hadn't had too many run ins with the big cat, but regardless, it didn't make sense to him why someone would want to hurt her, or how someone could be so brave to get so close. Levi knew Tiger was Gia's pet, and he knew she wouldn't harm him, but he was still hesitant to get close to her.

"Anyone with enough bravery and stupidity," Gia muttered. She got up again, finding that sitting still wasn't helping. She started to pace.

"They'll find what's wrong," Kelly assured her. "At least she's not bleeding. That's good, right?"

"I wish she was," Gia grumbled. Bleeding wasn't good, but bleeding made any wound obvious, and treatment was also rather obvious. Clean and close the room. Gia could do that herself. But Tiger wasn't bleeding, and there didn't seem to be a scratch on her. Instead, she was unconscious. For an otherwise healthy cat, that wasn't right.

"Officer Holling?" a doctor called for her and Gia turned to face him. He held up a chart. "We can't find any obvious injuries. We are running a few blood tests to rules out illness or disease, but unless something comes up…"

"She doesn't have diseases," Gia stated confidently. Though Tiger was a tiger, she wasn't like any regular animal. She was the second life of Gia's spirit animal. She could get sick, like any living being, and she could succumb to injuries, but there were no diseases that could plague her. It just wasn't possible with her genetic makeup. No life on earth could overpower a spiritual life.

"I understand," the doctor nodded. "But we're going by a process of elimination. Right now, though, she is stable."

"Can I see her?"

"She's resting upstairs. We would like to keep her overnight to monitor any changes to her condition and to continue running tests. The more we can rule out, the better."

Gia nodded her head, then thanked the Ninja Steel Rangers for picking her and Tiger up, and staying with her until she knew something. She followed the doctor upstairs where Tiger was resting in what appeared to be the break room. She was too big for any of the cages that they used to house their animals overnight, and the doctors felt that leaving her in with the other animals might only cause them all to be a bit agitated. The break room was the safest place for everyone.

"I'll give you two a moment," the doctor said.

Gia nodded her head then sat next to her cat. She gently stroked her fur.

"We'll figure this out, Tiger," she promised her. "We'll help you feel better, we'll find whoever did this and we'll make them pay. Just, get better, okay?"

Tiger didn't answer. She was either still asleep, or unconscious, Gia wasn't sure. She did know it would be a few minutes still before the doctor returned to kick her out, so she still had some time to be with her cat. She wrapped her arms around her cub and continued to stroke her gently.

-Ninja-Steel-

"Well, at least it wasn't a monster attack, right?" Brody asked as the Rangers returned to Ninja Ops from the vet's office. It had been weird being called as Rangers to drive a cat to the doctor, but under the circumstances, they could understand why Gia would reach out to them. It had been difficult for them to safely move Tiger from the street into the back of Brody's truck. They needed a lot of hands and none of them were sure any regular person would feel confident enough to touch a sick or injured tiger.

"Is this better?" Calvin asked. "I mean, Tigers obviously hurt but… we don't know why. At least with a monster we can… you know, kill it."

"We?" Kelly asked. She looked to Calvin, then to the Prism, which still housed his and Preston's stars. The two boys had talked about what happened in the game room with all their teammates, both as a group and individually. Everyone had agreed that forgiving them was for the best. It was easy to understand how the boys might act while being tortured, so forgiving them for letting their better judgment slip was the fair thing to do. However, everyone, including the boys, agreed that forgetting about the incident was out of the question. The Rangers were working on building back that trust, and until it was there, and stronger than ever, neither Calvin nor Preston wanted to take back their Power Stars. "We'll kill it?"

Calvin looked to Kelly, then nodded his head, "Right. You could kill it."

Kelly turned away. She didn't want to acknowledge him more than that. She had agreed with her friends, that forgiving Calvin and Preston was for the best, but she hadn't forgotten how it was Calvin who killed Sarah.

She understood the torture, and the excoriating pain that Calvin and Preston had to endure. She understand how it could cloud their judgement, and make them do things that they would never do. She also understood that Sarah had forgiven them both. Sarah, the victim, had let this go.

Sarah was forgiving, and kind, and fair. Kelly knew that maybe better than anyone. When she had outed Sarah to the school, she knew she had been wrong. She knew she had hurt Sarah, and she knew exactly what that pain and fear would feel like. She understood if Sarah never wanted to talk to her again, and she understood why everyone else at school hated her. Summer Cove wasn't like her previous school. People didn't care who other people loved. Kelly didn't know that until after she outed Sarah and once again made herself the outsider.

Everyone picked on her. Everyone teased her, called her names, excluded her from groups, in class. Even the Rangers, Kelly's best friends, wanted nothing to do with her. It wasn't until Sarah saw the bullying happening first hand that she decided to step in.

It was strange for Kelly. Despite, the fact that Sarah was the victim in all this, Sarah was the one to stand up to the jock and defend Kelly. Sarah was the one to extend the olive branch. Sarah was the one who helped reintroduce Kelly to the school, and by extension, had the school forgive Kelly. The green Ranger would never forget that. Sarah wouldn't let people hurt people. It didn't matter what they had done to her. If she saw injustice, she corrected it.

Kelly loved that about her, and she knew she had been the recipient of Sarah's forgiving heart. So it didn't come as a surprise to hear that Sarah had already forgiven the two people who wanted her dead. However, the difference was, though Kelly had caused a lot of pain, her actions didn't result in Sarah's death.

Calvin had killed Sarah. Kelly wasn't quite ready to just let that go, especially when him giving up his Power Star meant there was now one less person watching her back. If Calvin truly didn't want to repeat his mistakes, Kelly felt he needed to be out there, on the battle field, protecting and helping all his friends.

"In any case," Brody said, bringing the conversation back to Tiger, "Do you think there's anything we can do to help?"

"Gia's been such a huge help to us, it's only right," Hayley nodded her head.

"Tiger's been a huge help," Sarah said. Tiger had been with Sarah for some of her worst moments, and had helped to make them better. She protected Sarah after she had been kidnapped by her mother and Drex, and was there to play with Sarah when she visited Gia and needed a break from all the chaos. When Sarah was having anxiety, Tiger was there to help relieve it, and stayed by Sarah's side as a comfort. Now Tiger was the one in crisis and Sarah desperately wanted to return the favour. "Gia said Emma was going on security footage. Maybe we can pop by and help out?"

"Pop by? To Angel Grove?" Levi asked. "Uh, I hate to break it to you, but you've already missed first and second period, and Mick can only cover you guys for so long."

"Not to mention, it might look suspicious if we're all away for a day," Preston added. He and Calvin had already missed some school as they waited for their injuries to heal up a bit more. Too many people would ask too many questions if they both suddenly showed up to school covered in bruises and cuts when there had been no reports of any accidents. If Hayley, Brody, Sarah and Kelly were to also suddenly miss a day of school, and news got out about Tiger getting sick and the Rangers showing up to help, some people might put the pieces together. The rumour already was that Kelly was the green Ranger, because them both suddenly needing a wheelchair around the same time seemed like too much of a coincidence.

"Cal and Presto are already off school sick," Sarah suggested. "I'm already a known Ranger, so what if the three of us head down?"

Kelly's eyes widened, then she shook her head, "Can't a call to Emma accomplish the same thing? Besides, the attack happened in Summer Cove. Going out to Angel Grove will just delay things."

"What if we helped with the investigation?" Sarah asked. "Calvin and Preston could put on their training suits, and we can walk around and look for clues. Someone hurt Tiger, and if they're stupid enough to do that, maybe they're stupid enough to leave clues behind?"

"It's worth looking into," Brody nodded. "We'll tell Serena where you are. She might want to help out too."

Kelly breathed a sigh of relief hearing this. She knew the boys wouldn't hurt Sarah over nothing, but if they were out alone and Oedius decided to strike, Kelly worried history – or the future – would repeat itself. At least with Serena there, Sarah wouldn't be alone if the boys did turn on her.

"Good idea. Let's go," Kelly said and made her way to the door that would take her and the others straight to school.


	8. Poisoned

Security cameras were useless – at least, when they couldn't see the angle where an incident happened, they were useless. Unfortunately, Tiger's attack happened in a blind spot.

Sarah, Calvin, Preston and Serena couldn't find much out of the ordinary either. No one had seen what happened and no one heard anything. No one wanted to talk much either if they did claim they had heard something. The only real lead the Rangers had was that there was a hot-dog stand on the corner which hadn't been there before. They checked it out, and though it was odd that it was there, it seemed like there was nothing out of the ordinary about it except that it was now almost noon and there was no one to run it.

"I'd buy a hot-dog if it were open," Calvin said.

"This is where we picked up Tiger," Sarah recalled and looked around. "But Gia's office is around the corner."

"Sometimes Tiger wanders," Serena explained. "It's not often, especially when she's on duty, but she is still a cat. When she's hungry and there's food…"

"But there's no one working the truck," Preston pointed out. "I'm pretty sure if they want to keep their license, their meat and stuff would be in a fridge overnight."

"Maybe they were here this morning?" Sarah offered.

"But not at lunch?" Calvin said and pointed to the office buildings and stores in the area. The street had been emptied in the morning, but now that it was midday, it was very crowded. "They could be making a fortune off just me right now if they were."

"There's no permit," Serena said as she looked around the truck. Mike often ate from food trucks and though the food was often pretty good, she always liked to make sure they had a permit, so she knew what she was getting herself into. Since food trucks were held to the same standard as a restaurant, having a permit meant that the food, and the environment it was cooked in, was safe. This truck seemed to have no visible permit, and while it was possible that it was hidden because the truck was closed up, it seemed a bit odd that the permit wouldn't be visible, so the cops wouldn't ticket and tow it. "It should have a permit."

Sarah looked around. Some eyes were on her but for the most part, people were minding their business. The people of Summer Cove had learned the hard way that if Sarah was working as a Ranger, it was best to keep their distance. Though she tried to keep the city safe, being near her was a huge risk. She wasn't morphed, but people still wanted to be safe, just in case.

She asked Preston if he could break the lock with magic, and when he confirmed, she stepped away from him and the truck. She figured if people were looking, their eyes would follow her and not the regular, average looking teenager. When Preston got the lock open, Sarah approached the truck, tried the door and found it opened.

"No one saw the magic, right?" Preston asked. Sarah shook her head.

"We're good. Just watch my back," she said as she stepped into the truck. She figured it would be less suspicious if a Ranger walked in than any regular person.

"See anything?" Serena asked. Sarah shrugged.

"There isn't much in here. There's a fryer, a sink, all the staples of a truck but… the fridge is empty."

"Maybe they're stocking up?" Calvin suggested.

"But Tiger only would have gotten distracted if she smelled food, right?" Sarah asked and looked out at Serena, who nodded her head.

"She's a bit of a troublemaker but… only food really pulls her away from her duties," Serena said. "She's well fed but it's hard to make sure she gets enough all the time."

"So, there would have had to be food in here," Sarah said. She knew it wasn't likely that the owner would have closed his truck for the busiest hours of the day, but maybe they had. Sarah continued to investigate, wanting to know if perhaps the owner had actually run out of food and was restocking, or if this truck were here specifically as a distraction for Tiger.

It was a hot-dog truck, but Sarah was noticing that more and more things were missing. There were no bread crumbs from the buns, or stains from cooking accidents. There were no bottles for the condiments, no utensils for cooking, no aprons, gloves, or safety equipment. Sarah even tried the sink and found there wasn't any water. It was looking less and less like the owner was stocking back up, and more and more like this had been planted here for a specific purpose.

Sarah hopped out of the truck as she and the others started to look around. It was then, under the stairs leading into he truck, that Calvin found what appeared to be a raw piece of meat. It looked more like a steak than a hot-dog, indicating that it didn't belong.

"Oh, that's a juicy piece of meat," Serena said. "Tiger can't resist something like that."

"Someone lured her here," Sarah said. "Whoever owns this truck definitely wanted her to come."

"Can we find out?" Preston asked and looked to Serena. The white Ranger nodded her head.

"I'll see what Gia and Ji know."

"Ji?" Calvin asked. Serena nodded.

"He's got connections everywhere. I'm sure he knows someone who works for the city who would be able to tell us who owns this truck," Serena said. "I'll take care of that. You three should get back to Ninja Ops."

-Ninja-Steel-

Pacing was about all Gia could do at this point. Doctors had run their tests, and they found an unusual substance in Tiger's blood. They weren't sure what it was, and needed to run more tests. It wasn't the answer that Gia was looking for, and didn't exactly count as an answer at all, but at least now she knew what had happened to her cat.

As she paced, she spoke on the phone with Jake. He couldn't come home, but he wanted to be kept up to date on everything related to Tiger. He didn't share the same bond with the cat as Gia did – that wasn't possible – but he had grown to love her and couldn't imagine coming home and not seeing her.

"The doctors are working to figure it out," Gia assured him over the phone. "Ciara's staying with my mothers. She thinks it's a sleepover. They'll drop her off at school in the morning and pick her up if I need."

"_How are you holding up?"_

"I wish Jordan were here," Gia told him. Jake knew what that meant. Gia and Jordan had a love-hate relationship. They loved to hate each other, and hated that they loved each other. They would tease, pick on and name call each other, but it was always fun. They liked their unique relationship. To anyone looking in, it seemed like they were fire and ice – they couldn't co-exist without one completely dominating the other (usually Gia would beat Jordan, but he always claimed he let her win). However, the more they worked together, the closer they got. It was to the point where they were almost inseparable even outside of work.

Still, Gia didn't often admit she missed him. She usually didn't bring him up at all. Except for Emma, Jordan's death had hurt her the most.

"_That bad, huh?"_

"He'd know what to do," Gia said. "I… I know I asked for a job here but… I'm on my own for this one. I don't have a partner, I can't ask Rebecca because she's got to stay in Angel Grove…"

"_You've got the Rangers."_

"I know. And they're a good group but… Jake, this is my baby. If anything happens to Tiger…"

"_I know. Is Emma there?"_

"I'm not home," Gia shook her head. "I'm at the office. Tiger's in Summer Cove and I don't want to be too far in case of anything."

"_You're not, alone are you?"_

"I…"

"_What about Serena?"_ Jake suggested. He would feel so much better about not coming home if he knew his wife wasn't alone during this difficult time.

"She's back in Panorama with the kids."

"_What about Sarah?"_ Jake asked. _"We took her in to help her out, but family supports each other. This isn't a one-way street."_

"You think…"

"_Gia, I don't think it's a good idea for you to be alone tonight," _Jake told her honestly. _"We've taken Sarah in, I'm sure she'd be happy to help out. Give it a shot."_


	9. Sleepover

Late night knocks weren't uncommon. Shane sometimes ordered pizza late at night when he had a craving, or Dustin, Tori, Blake, Hunter, and sometimes even Cam would come by late just to hang out. Sometimes, Kelly would come by and it was easier to knock than to reach around for her bag and dig through it to find her keys.

But Shane wasn't expecting pizza, friends, or a girlfriend. And normally the knock wouldn't concern him so much, but it was more of a pound and now he did have a child to consider.

A Ranger child, but still. He'd be damned if he let anything happen to Sarah.

So, when the pounding knock sounded against the door, Shane jumped up from the couch and very quietly crept to the door. Sarah, who was sitting on the other couch with her notebook in hand, looked up to see her uncle, in his sweats, tip-toeing across the floor like a crook and rolled her eyes.

"You're so embarrassing."

"Shh," Shane whispered. "We don't know who's on the other side."

"Madame Oedius would have blown through the door and between the two of us, I think a common thief is in way over their heads," Sarah said.

"Better safe than sorry."

"Still embarrassing," Sarah whispered. Shane reached for the door, but before he opened it, he called out.

"Who is it?"

"It's Gia."

"Are you here to rob us?"

"Seriously? I'm a cop!"

"Silver Guardian, technically."

"Really, Shane?"

The red Ranger looked through the peephole, saw the person on the other side was in fact Gia (and she didn't look too happy), and opened the door. Gia glared at him, arms crossed.

"I've had a difficult day, you know."

"Sarah told me," Shane nodded. "Just trying to be safe, though. I'm new to the full-time uncle parent thing."

"What are you doing here, Gia?" Sarah asked. She had spoken with the yellow Ranger earlier in the day to update her on what she, Calvin, Preston and Serena had found out. Someone had deliberately caused harm to Tiger. They were waiting to see if they could find the owner of the food truck and hopefully when they did, they could figure out why they would want to hurt Tiger, and how they had done it.

By then, Gia had already known her cat had been poisoned. Finding out it was deliberate was at least a step in the right direction for the investigation. If they could find the owner of the food truck and track them down, it was possible they could find out what they had poisoned Tiger with.

"Can I stay?" she asked. "I don't want to be far from Tiger and it's probably better if I'm not alone tonight."

"We've got a couch," Sarah nodded and pointed to the piece of furniture that she had been sitting on. "Or you could take my room…"

"The couch is fine," Gia promised. "You're sure it's no trouble."

"Not a problem," Shane confirmed. "Any new updates on the cat?"

Gia shook her head. The doctors had promised to call as soon as they had something. So far, there had been no call except to let her know that Tiger's condition was still stable.

"That sucks," Shane said with a sigh. He pointed to the kitchen, "Can I make you something? Coffee? We've got some leftover take-out in the fridge I can reheat for you."

"I'm not really hungry," Gia said.

"Have you eaten anything?" Sarah asked. Gia tried to think of the last meal she had. Breakfast for sure, because she had made herself bacon and eggs, knowing she would need the energy for a day of organizing and setting up her office. She couldn't think of even a snack she had eaten since. Sarah got up. "I'll make you something."

"I can do it," Shane offered. Sarah shook her head.

"Remember what we said about you and the kitchen?" Sarah frowned. Shane nodded his head.

"We're not made for each other."

"You can set up the couch," Sarah suggested. Shane rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine, but after that, I'm watching TV in my room."

"Good night," Sarah chuckled as Shane went to get the extra sheets. Gia followed her into the kitchen.

"He can't cook?"

"Kelly's convinced he doesn't know how to work a toaster," Sarah nodded. "He means well, but there's a reason we have a fridge packed with take-out."

Sarah opened the fridge to show Gia, whose eyes widened as the sight of take-out containers piled on top of more take-out containers.

"Needless to say," Sarah added, "dinners at your place are the best nights of the week."

"Want to come more often?" Gia said with a chuckle. "You save the world on this diet?"

"I'm not home too often," Sarah shrugged. "Shane's a good uncle, and I like being with him and stuff but… it just sucks not having either of my parents around. At least when I stay at Ninja Ops, I can pretend they're still at home."

"I get it," Gia nodded. "I still find it weird sometimes to see Claire and my mom… acting all… romantic and stuff. Reminds me that dad's really gone."

Sarah gave Gia a sandwich she had made quickly, then offered her a glass of water. Gia took it, and while she managed to take a few bites, she wasn't all that hungry. Sarah knew the feeling all too well.

"We'll figure out what happened to Tiger," she said. "And whoever hurt her will pay. You're the best Guardian this city's ever seen."

"It's easier when you aren't directly involved," Gia said. "Tiger's my cub. It's hard to worry and work at the same time."

"Yeah."

"And they can't identify the poison," Gia shook her head. "Maybe I'm just overthinking it too much but… wouldn't they know what was used by now? I mean, there are countless drugs on the street right now but… a blood test should tell you what it is, right?"

"Maybe it's flushed out of her system already?"

"Couldn't be. Tiger's still sick. She's stable but… they were very clear, she's suffering. And they found the poison. They have a sample."

"And they can't tell what it is?" Sarah asked. "Could it be a combination?"

"They'd figure it out. I'm sure if I give it time, they'll be able to tell me and administer the right antidote but… Tiger's suffering."

"And I guess the list of people wanting to hurt a tiger cop is pretty long?" Sarah asked. Gia nodded her head with a sigh.

"I mean, I'm the one who makes the arrests and does the paperwork and stuff but… Tiger's always by my side. She's taken down a few bad guys but…"

"But?"

"People are usually terrified the moment they see her," Gia said. "You remember Thomas, right?"

"I try not to."

"He played it tough the whole time he had you," Gia told Sarah. "Played it like he was in control and, honestly, he kind of was. But the moment Tiger came out, he couldn't run away fast enough. Literally, he couldn't run fast enough to get away from Tiger. He was terrified of her, and he's got to be one of the more messed up people I've seen."

"Really?"

"Your whole biological pimp family is high on my list of fucked up people," Gia nodded. "I'm genuinely amazed you're a pretty decent person, never mind chosen by a higher power to be the pink Ranger."

"Thank you?" Sarah frowned.

"I can't count the number of people who might have imagined hurting Tiger, and it's not like no one's every tried but... they're causing her this much pain and she didn't so much as have a piece of their clothing, some of their blood, or even bits of their flesh on her."

"There's a good mental image for right before bed," Sarah frowned. "If you hear me screaming tonight, it's because you triggered another bad nightmare."

"Sorry," Gia chuckled. "But I mean it, Tiger's a real threat to people when she wants to be and if she felt like someone might hurt her, she knows she can fight them off. Whoever did this must be really brave and really stupid to even think to try this."

"Serena calls you brave and stupid all the time," Sarah smirked. "Would you ever try to attack a wild animal, never mind one trained to take you down quickly?"

"No," Gia shook her head. "That'd be… way too dangerous."

Sarah nodded, then sat down at the table, across from Gia, as a thought occurred to her.

"What if the person who attacked her wasn't afraid of being mauled?"

"Who would that be?" Gia asked. "_I_ don't want to be on Tiger's bad side and _I know_ for a fact she would never do anything to hurt me. Ciara and I are the only two people she would never, ever consider touching, no matter what."

"Ciara, but not Jake?"

"She's my spirit animal so technically, Ciara's her kid too. It's complicated," Gia said. "But if I'd be afraid to get on her bad side, who wouldn't?"

"Someone who isn't afraid to do what needs to be done to complete her agenda?"

"Her agenda?"

"Someone who's proven she's okay with hurting and killing the people Rangers love the most? Someone who got her ass handed to her by you for the first time in months."

"Oedius?" Gia asked. "You think Oedius is behind this?"

"I'm just putting pieces together," Sarah said. "The doctors can't figure out the kind of poison that was used on Tiger, despite looking into it for the better part of the day, a food truck appears out of nowhere, and clearly had no intention on ever selling food. The person – or monster – who injected Tiger did so flawlessly. There wasn't a fight, they didn't have to hurt Tiger any further, and they themselves didn't get hurt. Tiger wasn't found right next to the truck, so we can imagine she tried to run. It makes sense. Oedius would have a poison that would baffle anyone on Earth because of course we've never seen this before. Oedius would know how to get an abandoned food truck and how to lure Tiger to it. She wouldn't be afraid of Tiger because she's Oedius, and Tiger, seeing her, would know to run away, right?"

"I've never trained her to fight monsters," Gia nodded. "I always told her to run, protect Ciara and the other kids if needed, but run."

Gia looked across the table at Sarah, "But they could still figure out what the poison is. Just because they don't know it yet…"

"They might, but would you really put this past Oedius? She used Aiden to manipulate Kelly's dad, and killed him, Aiden and Jordan. She convinced my father to work against me and the Rangers. She paralyzed Kelly, blew my parents up when she didn't need my dad anymore, and she attacked us in HQ. She even tried using a time machine to conquer the planet because she saw some guy named Vrak do it and thought she could do it better. If anyone's going to poison a tiger, it's her."

"Vrak was my Oedius," Gia said. Sarah frowned.

"Huh?"

"Vrak. Prince Vrak of the Armada?"

"She just said his name," Sarah shrugged.

"Vrak built a time machine, used it on us and… well, you know the story."

"Not really. I didn't time travel," Sarah shook her head. "So, the Vrak she mentioned, that was your team's Oedius?"

"Had my dad killed," Gia nodded. "Hired Cliff to do his dirty work."

"Cliff?"

"KInda like my Drex," Gia said.

"Oedius had Drex work for her."

"Too bad Vrak's dead," Gia chuckled. "We could have introduced them."

"Do you really want that?" Sarah asked. Gia shook her head, then looked serious again.

"Do you really think… Oedius? You think she would do this?"

"She might have. We can't rule her out."

"Why?"

"If you can figure that out before something bad happens, you'll be the world's best Ranger," Sarah smirked. "Odds are, you'll never guess it quite right."

"If it's to hurt me, she's already won," Gia said. "But she will regret it."


	10. The Break In

It was late into the night. There were very few people on the roads – mostly, they stuck to the major roads. Madam Oedius, with Badonna by her side, stood on one of the sideroads. The humans were asleep and without a monster to attack the city, they would have no reason to worry that she was around.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Badonna asked, looking around. She wasn't as calm as Oedius was. She kept looking around, worried that a human might walk by, see them, and panic. The Rangers would show up, and they would be caught in a fight. Badonna was confident in her skills as a fighter. She knew she could take on the Rangers if she needed, but for Oedius' plan to go well, they needed to avoid the Rangers.

"Shouldn't be long now," Oedius said. Badonna nodded her head.

"What if someone sees us?"

"Humans are generally diurnal," Oedius assured her. "Right now, they're sleeping soundly in their beds, unaware of our very presence."

Badonna gave her head another little nod, then breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw a large shadowy figure walking towards them. When it crossed under the street lights, Badonna could see bright, orange coloured fur with black stripes. The monster stood up on two legs, with sharp claws coming out of all four paws, with the front two being a bit longer. Its teeth shown brightly as the monster growled softly and Badonna knew she wouldn't want to be caught in this monster's jaw.

"You found me," Oedius smiled as the monster approached. It looked uncomfortable and dangerous, but it didn't seem like it wanted to attack Oedius. I was worried you might be lost.

The monster growled, but Oedius held up a hand to silence it. Its grumble shook the streets, and she didn't want to risk waking anyone up. She wasn't here to attack or cause trouble. She just wanted to collect her lost monster.

"Come," she told it. "I'll get you fitted with proper armour."

"Armour?" Badonna asked. She looked the monster up and down. It was covered in the orange and black fur, but its skin looked thick. She wasn't sure any human weapon could do a good job of penetrating it already. Oedius wanted to add armour to it?

"Of course," Oedius nodded. "She'll need something to protect her from the Rangers."

Badonna smirked as Oedius' plan occurred to her. She looked at the monster, then followed Oedius back to the ship.

-Ninja-Steel-

Her phone ringing loudly woke her up. At first Gia thought it was just her alarm, but then she remembered that she was starting a new HQ. She didn't have any official duties yet in Summer Cove, or any employees. She hadn't set an alarm because she could get to work whenever she was ready.

She remembered Tiger at the vet's office and hoped that this was good news about her cat. She answered it, now wide awake, but the voice of the doctor on the other end didn't seem optimistic when he saw hello. Gia felt her heart sink.

"Is everything okay?"

"_Officer Holling, as you know, Tiger was left in our vet's office overnight,"_ the doctor explained. _"We worked late into the night to analyze the poison in her blood, but there's a point where we have to get home an rest."_

"I get it," Gia said. She didn't like hearing that the people responsible for looking after Tiger had left her alone, or stopped doing their jobs, but being a Silver Guardian herself, she knew how overworked doctors could be, and how they needed to stop for a rest, even if it wasn't always convenient. She had worked a few late nights herself, trying to solve sensitive cases, and while she never wanted to leave them, even for a moment, she knew sometimes, it was better to take a break. She was sure the doctors had taken care of Tiger before leaving, and she was sure they wouldn't have left her if they weren't confident she would be alright for herself.

"_Officer Holling," _the doctor said. _"I'm very sorry to tell you this, but it seems like, overnight, there was a break in at our office."_

"A… a what?"

"_Many of our pets are missing, including Tiger."_

"Tiger couldn't walk," Gia growled and remembered trying to encourage Tiger to walk into the truck when she first found her cat sick. She had to call for the Rangers' help and Tiger hadn't moved at all the whole time Gia waited with her at the vet. "Are you telling me someone broke in and stole a three-hundred-pound animal?"

"_We aren't sure what happened,"_ the doctor said. _"Our cameras didn't catch anything."_

"Cameras are useless," Gia muttered.

"_Our whole office is trashed. Whoever did this, really left a mess. Our computers are all broken, our equipment is either destroyed or thrown around the building. Officer Holling, we have holes in the walls."_

"So robbery and vandalism?"

"_Concrete walls,"_ the vet specified, and Gia frowned. People could do damage when they wanted, but putting holes into concrete walls of a building seemed a bit excessive. The vet had already said he and his team worked late for Tiger, and it was early in the morning.

"I'm coming by," Gia said. "I want to see this for myself."

"_I'd say knock on the door when you arrive, but that's gone too,"_ the vet said. _"Just… come on in when you get here."_

Gia hung up the phone and pulled herself off the couch. She hurried down the hallway and pounded on Sarah's door. The pink Ranger opened her door, but Shane opened his as well.

"Don't you know how to knock like a regular person?" he asked. His hair was messy, his eyes were only half-open, his face looked grumpy and he wore only his boxers.

"I need your kid for the day."

"But can't you knock nicely?" Shane asked and knocked on his own door to show her. "See, calm, gentle, doesn't sound like you're trying to break in."

"What do you need?" Sarah asked. She was also half asleep.

"There's been a break in at the vet," Gia told her. "I want the pink Ranger there. Think school will understand?"

"School will, but I'm gonna miss it," Sarah sighed. "I'll have Serena collect the work I'm missing and I'll catch up. Mrs. Finch will be fine with that. Do we need the others?"

Gia shook her head. Not for now, at least. She had no reason to believe this crime needed Rangers involved, but she was in a new city, without a partner, and it was her cat who was in danger.

If Jordan were still around, he would want Gia to work with someone she trusted. Someone who would keep her in line when her temper, and protective instincts flared. She figured since Sarah was a known Ranger, the school would understand why she needed to miss a day. After all, though it wasn't for a monster, this crime seemed like it could have been committed by someone rather dangerous.

"I'll get ready," Sarah said.

"Hurry," Gia rushed her, then turned back to Shane, who had fallen asleep while leaning against his door frame. She gentle nudged him, and the red Ranger woke up when he felt he was going to fall over. He looked to Gia, then blinked.

"Huh?"

"Back to bed," Gia told him and pointed inside his room. Shane nodded his head and went back to bed.


	11. Tiger's Attack

Gia arrived at the vet's office and immediately got to work looking around. She examined the damage to the building, which seemed rather extensive. It was almost like whoever had broken in had taken a wrecking ball to the place.

"This all happened overnight?" Gia asked, though she already knew that was true. She had been at the vet's just the day before.

"I couldn't believe it," the vet nodded. "I have no idea who would do this. All we do is help sick animals."

"Anyone lose a pet lately?" Gia asked. She was trying to think of motive – a reason someone might want to hurt the vet's business.

"Yes, but… no one seemed exceptionally upset," the vet said. "I mean, they were all upset, of course, but no one stands out. Every pet we've had to put down recently had either lived a long life, or was being put out of their misery."

"I don't think anyone broke in," Sarah pointed out. Gia and the vet looked to her. Sarah pointed around to the damage. "All the damage to the walls is on one side, and they're all on the way out, as if someone trashed this place as they were leaving."

"You think someone broke out?" the vet asked. "It was only the animals in here last night. Could they have caused this mess on the way out? After seeing a tiger, maybe?"

"The doors are kicked out, not in," Sarah said as she pointed out the damage to the frame and hinges. "Why would anyone have to do that if they're already inside? And who has time to kick down a door if they think a tiger is coming after them?"

The vet looked to Gia, who shrugged her shoulders.

"She's a smart kid."

"And the holes in the wall… I mean, someone with a sledgehammer might have been able to do this, but it really looks more like… a punch."

"A punch?"

"I mean, it's got to be a huge fist," Sarah said and held her fist up against one of the damaged walls. Then she looked to Gia. "We were talking last night about Oedius maybe being behind Tiger getting sick. I think, maybe, she or one of her monsters have something to do with this?"

"Kid…"

"I don't want to be right but… Look around, Gia. This is obviously a break out, not a break in. And for there to be these many holes in the wall… someone with a sledgehammer would still be here beating these holes in if that were the case."

"You're sure about this?"

"More sure than I am that this is a break in," Sarah nodded.

"Why would a monster break stuff on the way out, though?" the vet asked. "If it doesn't make sense for a person to do it, why would it make sense for a monster?"

"That's what I think we should figure out," Sarah said and looked up at Gia. "Doctor, can I get a sample of Tiger's blood test? It might be a good idea for us to analyze it and see if it might be something Oedius would have concocted."

"That wasn't destroyed," the vet nodded as he raced around what was left of the counter to get it. He handed it to Sarah.

-Ninja-Steel-

"I haven't seen anything like this before," Mick shook his head after checking the sample the vet had given Gia and Sarah.

"Do you know if it's from Earth?" Sarah asked. Mick looked to it again, then nodded.

"I can tell it's not. Most of the chemicals here are, or mimic what you can find on Earth, but there's one…"

"So it's Oedius?" Gia asked.

"There are thousands of galaxies, with thousands of planets," Mick said. "All of them have this specific chemical available to them. It would be hard to say with certainty that Oedius is behind this."

"But since she has access to this?" Sarah asked. "And she is the only monster here, right?"

"Odds are good," Mick nodded his head.

Gia took a deep breath. It wasn't a surprise that Oedius would do something like this, but to have it happen? Tiger was her baby – her cub. Though she did work with the Silver Guardians and was often put into dangerous situations, Gia always took care of Tiger and made sure that nothing bad would happen to her. Losing Tiger, or seeing her in any amount of pain, put a hole in Gia's heart.

"So the question is, why would Oedius want to do this?" Sarah asked.

"What can Tiger do for her that her own monsters can't?" RedBot asked. "There was the initial poisoning, and then the kidnapping. Why would Oedius go to that much trouble if she has monsters who'll also do the work for her?"

"Do you think they'll hurt her?" Gia looked to RedBot, then Mick.

"I… We should figure out her plan," he told her. He didn't want to say either way. Oedius was cruel and dangerous. It would be completely out of character for her to not cause pain to her victims. However, Gia didn't need to hear that. Though Mick didn't understand the inter-species family relationship, he knew that Gia cared deeply for Tiger. Mick knew Brody was a different species from himself, though that didn't seem as drastic as the one between Gia and Tiger. He knew if anything happened to Brody, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. It had to be the same feeling.

"Does Tiger know any special tricks?" Sarah asked Gia, who shrugged her shoulders.

"She… follows commands. Though you can train most Tigers to do that too. Emma would tell you that's nor humane. Tiger just… knows. She knows to listen to be because of the connection."

"Could she have that connection with Oedius?" RedBot asked. Gia shook her head.

"It's a spiritual connection. We all have spirit animals and Tiger is mine. The only other person in the universe she has a bond with is Ciara."

"Because that's technically her kid," Sarah said as she recalled the conversation they had the night before. Gia nodded.

"There's nothing Oedius can do to break that bond, and there's nothing she can do to imitate that bond."

"So, if we find Tiger, she'll still listen to you?" Sarah asked. "Even if she's sick or hurt?"

"She should," Gia nodded. It was at that point, an alarm sounded. Sarah, Mick and RedBot raced to their computers. Gia followed as a pit formed in her stomach. Sarah shook her head.

"Gia, don't look."

"Why?" Gia asked, but it was too late. There on the screen, a monster that looked a like an armoured Tiger was wrecking havoc on the city. The beast was clawing, growling and grabbing people, throwing them around. The beast grabbed cars, lifted them high and tossed them at crowds of people.

"I've got to go," Sarah said. Gia grabbed her arm. She knew this monster.

"That's Tiger," it looked very different from the cat she knew and loved, but Gia would always recognize her cub. Whatever Oedius had done – this was Tiger.

"I know," Sarah told her. "Are you coming?"

"I…"

"You can reach her," Mick said. He had to believe Gia's connection to the cat would be enough.

"I'll call Brody, Levi, Kelly and Hayley," RedBot announced.

"Not Preston and Calvin?" Gia asked. Sarah pointed to the Prism.

"They've benched themselves. We're going with what we've got. But if Tiger will listen to you, that should be enough. We'll protect the people, get them somewhere safe. You try to calm her down."

"Sounds good," Gia nodded. Then she rushed to grab her bag, grateful that she still had the habit of bringing it with her everywhere. She took out her morpher, just in case. She had a bond with Tiger, but it was clear Oedius had hurt her. Gia needed to make sure she was safe too.

"They'll meet us there," Sarah said. "Let's go!"


	12. Learning To Trust

It was havoc in the city when Sarah arrived. People were fleeing, trying their best to get away, but it was rough. Tiger had already torn this street to pieces, and with all the debris lying around, there was no clear way out.

A car flew right over Sarah's head and smashed into the ground. Glass shattered, there were more screams, but Sarah couldn't look back. She needed to help the people who were closest to Tiger and make sure that they could get away.

While having her identity exposed had come with its challenges, Sarah felt that now that people knew who was behind her helmet, and knew she was here to help, that they listened to her a lot more. They felt safer when they saw her. Even at school, most students were only coming back after recent events because they knew Sarah would be there and would protect them from anything.

Which she would. They weren't wrong to believe that. The city wasn't wrong to believe in her. Right now, she was glad they did.

"Keep going," she told them as people raced to get away. She helped a woman who was trapped her in her by pulling off the door. When the other Rangers showed up, they started to help as well. They directed people where to go, and if Tiger tried to follow, they stood in the way.

Tiger was relentless. Anything in her sight, she would tear apart. She was already strong as a tiger, but it seemed whatever Oedius had done to her had increased that strength tenfold. As Gia approached, carefully, she watched her cat grab a pickup truck and lift it over her head like it was a toy. Tiger threw the truck into a nearby building. Fortunately, Hayley had already gotten the people away from it.

The Rangers were doing their jobs, so Gia needed to do hers.

"Tiger!" she called out, but the big cat wasn't listening. She picked up another car and threw it straight down into the street. This would be a huge mess to clean up, but Gia didn't want to think about that right now. "Tiger, it's me!"

Tiger went to grab a car but stopped. She turned to Gia and her eyes settled on the yellow Ranger. She let out a growl. Gia knew it wasn't safe to approach, but she kept trying.

"Oedius did this to you. You've been poisoned, Tiger, but we can help."

Tiger roared loudly, picked up the car next to her and threw it at Gia. The yellow Ranger jumped out of the way, but she was stunned by what Tiger had done.

"Tiger, stop!" Gia shouted, but the big cat continued her rampage. Nothing could stand in her way. She charged at a bus shelter, shattering the glass, then tearing out the bench inside. She ripped up a garbage from the sidewalk and tossed it at a fire hydrant. It broke, sending water shooting out. Gia rushed to her cat and grabbed her arm, but Tiger grabbed her and threw her into the street. She was about to slash at her with her claw, but Sarah threw a rock. With her Power Star still in Oedius' hands, it was the best weapon she had.

"I don't want to hurt you," Sarah said. Tiger swiped with her other paw. Sarah had to jump back to avoid being hit. A swipe by Tiger on a normal day was already lethal. A swipe from her now would likely shatter her skull on impact. Sarah couldn't afford another hit to the head.

"She's too tough," Brody called out. The street was clear for now, but they couldn't keep fighting this way. Tiger was too strong, too fast, and they didn't want to hurt her. Instead of trying to calm her down, it would likely be easier to clear out the city. "Gia, we need to evacuate!"

Gia looked to her cat, who hadn't listened. She knew Tiger was still there – she could see her kitten's eyes. However, Tiger wasn't in control, the monster was. The team couldn't fight her like this. They needed a plan, and until they had one, anyone in the city was in danger.

"Myers, Collins, do you copy?" she asked into her walkie.

"_Go for Myers," _Eric responded.

"I need all officers dispatched to Summer Cove ASAP. We need a city-wide evacuation."

"_Does it have anything to do with the Tiger all over the news?"_

"Everything to do with it," Gia nodded and her heart sunk even deeper. Tiger was already on thin ice with the city simply for being a Tiger. People who weren't fans were looking for any reason to have her put into a cage or even put down. Seeing her wrecking the town would give them incredible leverage, and though Eric and Wes liked and wanted to keep Tiger on their team, they had to do what made the public feel safe.

"_I'll get every officer down there,"_ Eric answered. _"Gia, can I trust you with this?"_

"Just clear the city and I'll take care of my cat."

-Ninja-Steel-

Once the Silver Guardians showed up, the Rangers knew it was safe to head back to Ninja Ops. They did so and were greet by Mick, Calvin, Preston and RedBot.

"That didn't go well," Preston commented. The Rangers nodded their heads but Gia kicked the couch and let out a cry.

"Dammit!"

"With the city evacuated, things should be easier," Brody said. "We can focus all our attention on Tiger and…"

"Do what?" Sarah asked. "She's too strong. We can't hurt her, even if we wanted to."

"There has to be a way," Levi said. "Everything, even jacked tigers, has to have a weakness."

"I can talk to her," Gia said. "I know she hears me but… if I can just get a little closer, get a little more…"

"You were almost a pancake out there," Kelly frowned. "If Sarah hadn't stepped in…"

"What if we restrain her?" Hayley suggested. It seemed like the best solution. Tiger was a danger and the Rangers couldn't think of a safe way to stop her without hurting her. If they could find a way to restrain her, at least they could avoid her doing more damage to the city, and avoid causing her harm. Hayley looked to Mick, RedBot and Sarah. "Is there anything we can build that might be able to hold her?"

"It's going to need to be seriously reinforced," RedBot said. "The readings on our scanners from Tiger were off the charts. I've never seen a monster with this much physical strength before."

"And if she doesn't recognize us, trapping her could be lethal if she escaped," Preston said. "We'd bring her back here and then it's us against her in a small room."

"I don't like those odds," Kelly shook her head.

"We have to try something," Gia frowned. "If you can restrain her, even for a minute, and I can talk to her, maybe I can get through."

"And what do we do if we can't get through to her?" Calvin asked. "I mean… if you can't talk her down, does anyone else stand a chance?"

"I…" Gia didn't know how to answer this. No one had a connection to Tiger like she did, and if the poison clouded her mind to the point where even Gia couldn't get through to her, it would be impossible for anyone else.

"We don't have to figure that out just yet," Mick told Gia. "We can try some restraints and see if they'll hold. It's risky but…"

"It's worth it," Kelly finished for Mick. "Tiger's a friend. We have to try anything."

-Ninja-Steel-

Calvin and Preston didn't stick around to plan the trap for Tiger. Calvin's mechanical skills and Preston's magic could be of use to the team, but considering this was a risky situation, the boys wanted to stay out of it.

For the most part, the team had forgiven them. Calvin and Hayley had a couple of talks about keeping secrets and Calvin had once against started opening to her, especially when the game room started to haunt his mind. Leaning on her, he found, helped him feel a lot better about what happened than when he had been bottling it up.

Preston knew he had the team's support. They encouraged him when they trained together, they always wanted to know when he planned on taking back his Power Star. They wanted him back on the team.

Really, all that was stopping the boys was forgiving themselves.

Calvin had gone over the game room many times in his head. He tried to tell himself that under torture, anyone can be made to do anything, but it didn't work. He was supposed to be a hero. He was supposed to have the fate of the planet in his hands. Heroes weren't supposed to crack, and they weren't supposed to turn on each other. Sarah had forgiven him for what he had done but Calvin couldn't forgive himself, not yet. Sarah was a sister to him. He couldn't believe he had hurt his sister.

Preston hadn't killed anyone, but it was his intention that he regretted, and the possibility that that influenced Calvin. Maybe it wasn't just Calvin's own pain that he was thinking about. Maybe he considered Preston's pain? Maybe, Calvin was forced to chose which friend should suffer – an impossible choice, but one that, in the moment, needed to be made.

As they trained together, Preston stopped for a moment. He looked to Calvin – a question burning in his mind.

"Was it my fault?" he asked. Calvin lowered his fists and frowned.

"What?"

"The game room," Preston said. "What happened in there… was it because of me?"

"Pretty sure it's because of Oedius," Calvin shook his head.

"I mean… the choice you made," Preston asked. "I… I wanted you to do it. I wanted the pain to end. If… If I had tried to talk you out of it… would Sarah still be alive?"

Calvin went to grab his water bottle as he thought about the question. It was a big one – one he had never exactly considered. Had Preston's encouragements influenced his actions?

"I… I don't know," Calvin shrugged. "I mean… maybe?"

"Maybe?"

"I really don't know," Calvin answered honestly. "I know I did look to you, to see what you maybe wanted but… I can't say you swayed me either way. I'm pretty sure my mind was already made up."

"I just… I can't help but think… maybe if I had said not to do it, or said anything, maybe you wouldn't have done it."

"Maybe," Calvin said. "But… I was in a lot of pain too. And I know I was glad it was me doing it, to some extent, because I was worried you wouldn't go through with it… so… no?"

"I just wish that erased itself," Preston said. "When the future disappeared, I wish our memories of it did too. Knowing… what I did…"

"You didn't even do it," Calvin said. "I feel like absolute shit whenever I just look at Sarah."

"You'd never hurt her again, though, right?" Preston asked, and Calvin shook his head.

"Never. I feel so guilty."

"Me too."

"But… _so_ guilty," Calvin stressed. "It's to the point now where… I'm worried on the battlefield, I'm going to be so busy trying to keep Sarah safe that… I let something happen to one of the others."

"Me too," Preston nodded. "It's why I can't go back."

"Do you mean it?" the boys heard and turned to the Ribbon Tree to see Kelly had joined them outside. They knew there was some tension between them and the green Ranger. While Kelly wasn't hostile, she wasn't as quick to forgive as the others. Calvin couldn't blame her. If he found out someone was responsible for causing harm to Hayley, he wouldn't want to forgive them either.

"We do," Calvin confirmed, and Kelly made her way over.

"You've really got her back?" she asked. "Like… no doubt?"

"No doubt," Calvin nodded.

"She's my best friend," Preston said. "Kelly, we feel terribly. If we could take it all back…"

"You could take back your Power Stars," Kelly said and pointed to the Ribbon Tree.

"We…"

"You're never going to completely forgive yourselves," Kelly shook her head. "And pretending like you will is just ignoring what happened. Do you think I forgive myself for what I did."

"What… did you do?" Preston asked. He knew Kelly wasn't perfect, but he couldn't think of anything she had done that compared to murder.

"Outing Sarah," Kelly answered. "I mean, it ended well for her. The school's a cook place, this whole city is cool, but… I didn't know that. All I knew about coming out was that people started torturing you – albeit in a different way. I knew life was miserable for me when I was outed and… I tried to put that on Sarah."

"But you didn't kill her."

"Really?" Kelly asked. "Because in some places, coming out is a death sentence. In some places, people must hide who they are because they're worried they'll be killed for being themselves. I didn't know Summer Cove was a safe space. I didn't know people would jump to her defense, and that's with me every single day. Earning Sarah's forgiveness was only half the battle. I've accepted what I've done. I've accepted that I've made a mistake and I promised myself I would never let it happen again. But I'll never completely forgive myself for doing it. I may not have killed her literally, but I know I damn well could have."

"So… it doesn't get better?"

"It does… sometimes. Then sometimes it comes back to haunt you and you can't believe you were ever capable of something like that. But you remind yourself that you're a different person now – a better person. You're someone your friends know they can trust."

Kelly stopped and looked to the two boys. She hoped her message was sinking in. She knew they likely felt a lot more guilt over their actions than she ever would. Outing Sarah hadn't ended with the pink Ranger's death, but killing her had. Still, she wanted to see them back in action. She wanted to know that Sarah, and all her friends, had all the help and supported they needed.

"How are we going to learn to trust you again if you're not out there with us?" Kelly asked. "How are you going to learn to trust yourselves if you're not out there?"

"We can't risk…"

"Are you going to hurt us?" she interrupted Preston, and both boys shook their heads. "Are you going to let what happened, happen again?"

They shook their heads once more.

"If the Power Star thinks you're ready, I think you're ready too. It won't be easy but… with Tiger out there, and Sarah's Power Star still in Oedius' hand, we'll need all the help we can get."


	13. Trust and Faith

Calvin looked to the yellow Power Star in his hand. The Prism trusted him to be a Ranger. His friends trusted him. His girlfriend still loved him. Sarah seemed to have complete faith in him, but his faith in himself was still shaken.

Despite that, he listened to Kelly's words. He didn't want to be back on the battlefield before he had forgiven himself, but he knew Kelly was right. Sitting on the sidelines wasn't doing anyone any good. There was nothing he could do from the lab that Mick and RedBot couldn't already accomplish, and him being benched only meant the team was down another Ranger. With Preston following his lead, and Sarah still without her Power Star, half the team was out of commission.

"Suck it up," he muttered to himself, but Preston, who was right next to him, turned.

"I'm trying," he said. Calvin shook his head.

"I'm talking to me," he sighed. "God, this feels like a stupid idea."

"We're not bad guys," Preston said to Calvin, and as a reminder to himself. "It was a bad day, with a worse outcome and… that's not going to happen again."

"And if it does?" Calvin asked.

"We don't kill Sarah. Or anyone," Preston said. "What happened in the game room was torture but… so is this guilt."

"So is Sarah's forgiveness."

"Right?" Preston said with a little chuckle. Maybe that was why it was so hard for him to forgive himself. Sarah hadn't gotten mad with him. She hadn't been in the room when the murder happened because of the time travel, but that was all the more reason for her to get mad. She wouldn't understand all the details and would simply know that in a crisis, her friends chose to kill her instead of save her.

And rather than get mad, ignore them, or completely dump them as friends, Sarah had been the first to comfort Preston and the one to go after Calvin when he broke up with Hayley and tried to run.

"We'll do better," Calvin said.

Mick announced the trap for Tiger was done and the Rangers gathered around the worktable. Gia looked to it skeptically.

"Will it hurt her?"

"It's humane," Sarah promised the former Yellow. "It'll restrain her. I can't promise she won't hurt herself trying to get out, but it's not intended to cause harm. If it works."

"If?" Hayley frowned. "And if it doesn't?"

"Threated monster Tiger breaks free after feeling trapped?" Kelly asked. "I say we run as fast as we can and get the hell out."

"If the restraints break, you need to move," Mick said. He looked to Gia once, quickly, sadly, then back to his Rangers. "Tiger's dangerous and until we know approaching her is safe for us, we can't risk ourselves."

"She won't hurt me," Gia insisted, but Sarah looked to her again.

"She was about to."

"I just need enough time to get through to her," Gia said. "The restraints have to hold."

"She's in the park," RedBot announced as he brought the video up on the screen. "The good news is that there's no cars there for her to throw."

"The better news is the park is open space and Tiger is an ambush predator," Gia said.

"That's good news?" Calvin frowned.

"Keep your eyes on her. Don't turn your back and don't let her think you don't know she's there," Gia instructed.

"You guys can keep her busy while I set up the trap," Sarah said. "I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Cute," Kelly said with a shake of her head. "You think you're going in there?"

"Someone has to set up the trap. Since I don't have powers…"

"You'll stay here."

"We need as much firepo…uh, eyes on Tiger as we can get," Sarah said. "Having all available Rangers…"

"Sarah, she's the strongest monster we've ever faced _and_ we don't want to hurt her," Kelly said.

"I know how to set up the trap. Just keep me covered and one it's ready, I'll get out of the way," Sarah insisted. "Tiger's helped me out a few times. Let me return the favour."

Kelly sighed, then glanced quickly at Preston and Calvin. She saw them clutching their Power Stars and though it made her nervous, she gave a nod. She knew she wouldn't stop Sarah anyway, but at least this way, Sarah wouldn't be sneaking in behind her back.

As Sarah picked up the trap, Gia grabbed her arm and pulled her in closer.

"This won't hurt her?" she asked desperately.

"It's only supposed to hold her still," Sarah promised. "Hopefully long enough for her to recognize you through the poison."

"I'm trusting you, kid."

-Ninja-Steel-

While the other Rangers arrived to the park and stole Tiger's attention, Sarah kept to the bushes. As Gia had mentioned in the base, the park was an open space. There weren't too many places to hide so Sarah had to make sure that she moved between the bushes and the trees quickly. As the Rangers challenged Tiger, she set up the trap.

It wasn't overly complicated. The only way to be sure the trap itself wouldn't hurt Tiger was to create a cage. It would lock the big cat inside. The challenge was Tiger's strength, which seemed to have increased ten-fold from the poison. Oedius clearly intended on the cat being a physical, rather than manipulative or psychological threat. If they were going to restrain her, they needed to create a cage that wouldn't shatter as Tiger fought to break free. Ninja Steel would likely be strong and light enough, but the Rangers couldn't risk losing any of it, so they had to go with the scrap metal they had lying around the base. Fortunately, there was a bunch of it, and a quick trip to the school's junkyard was a big help too.

The cage itself was rather heavy, but if it worked, hopefully they wouldn't have to transport Tiger in it. Sarah set the pieces of it on the ground and started the final assembly. She glanced up occasionally to be sure the Rangers still had her covered, but stayed focused. If there was even a single screw that came loose, the whole trap could fall apart.

When it was assembled, and it looked like it was just in time too as the Rangers were taking quite a beating, Sarah took a step back. She watched, and winced, as Tiger threw Brody into Levi, sending the two to the ground with the rest of the Rangers and knew this was her moment. She needed to draw Tiger towards the trap.

She snapped a branch off a nearby bush and threw it at the big cat. It hit Tiger in the back, just as she was approaching Kelly. Tiger felt something hit her and turned around to see Sarah standing off in the distance. With a roar, she set her sights on the pink Ranger and lunged quickly towards her. Sarah saw the big cat coming and knew, she had to run as quickly as she could. If the trap didn't work right, or if Tiger managed to avoid it altogether, there had to be enough distance between her and the cat to give her time for the Rangers to step in.

Suddenly, everything went black. Sarah dropped to the ground, unmoving. Kelly, who had seen the stick hit Tiger and saw the big cat had Sarah as her new prey knew immediately what happened. There was never a good time for a seizure, but this had to be the absolute worse timing. Sarah had completely stopped moving and lay helplessly on the ground, and Tiger was moving towards her with such speed, none of the Rangers could catch up, never mind interfere.

But Preston knew what could beat the Tiger. With his Power Star back in his hand, he knew he had his magic powers at full strength. He used his barrier spell and a shield appeared around the pink Ranger.

Fortunately, it wasn't needed. Right before Tiger reached Sarah, the trap sprung. The cage came up, restraining the cat and keeping Sarah just out of her reach. Preston breathed out a sigh of relief. At least the trap had slowed the tiger down, but he couldn't let the barrier down. If the trap didn't work, Sarah was still in harm's way.

All of Preston's energy went to keeping the barrier up. He didn't get off the ground, but the other Rangers did. Calvin, who was closest to Sarah, bolted up to his feet. The others followed him.

They were supposed to surround the trap. Calvin knew this. They surrounded the trap while Gia talked to Tiger. If the trap broke, they were to try and keep hold her off unless she was completely out of control. They were also supposed to stay close because they had all agreed on the way that they needed to make sure Gia was out of harm's way. While the Silver Guardian believed her cat wouldn't hurt her, none of the Rangers wanted to risk her being wrong. If they had to, they would drag their predecessor off.

Sarah was supposed to be long gone by that point. Instead, her brain decided to let her down now.

Preston's spell was up, but just like with the trap, Calvin couldn't be sure the barrier was strong enough, or that Preston would be able to hold it for much longer. So, ignoring the plan, Calvin bolted past the trap, ignoring Tiger completely and raced around the barrier. He picked Sarah up and ran from the park.

Seeing Sarah was out of harm's way, Preston let the barrier drop. He wobbled to his feet and took a few deep breathes before he made his way towards the trap. He heard Gia trying to calm her cat, though it didn't appear to be working. Still, the trap held, so Gia had some time to get through.

Feeling safe, at least for now, Preston doubled over to catch his breath. As he did, Kelly grabbed his arm and practically pulled him onto her lap as she hugged him tight.

"Thank god," she whispered in his ear.

"The trap saved her," Preston said.

"We weren't sure until it happened," Kelly said. "Thank god you were here."

Preston gave a little nod and that was when Kelly's words sunk in. He was there. Despite not thinking he was ready, he took his Power Star and he joined his team. If he hadn't, and if the trap hadn't worked, or even if he wasn't there to help distract Tiger long enough for the trap to be set…

He didn't want to think about what had happened. He just wanted to be glad he was there.

A loud bang brought him back to the moment. Preston jumped, and got off Kelly's lap to look at Tiger in the cage. The bars were starting to bend, some looked ready to break. The Rangers were all ready to run if they needed except for Gia. She moved in closer.

"Tiger, it's me," she said. Her voice had to stay calm. She had to appear calm. Harder, still, she had to _be_ calm. She and Tiger were connected and if the cat felt threatened or agitated, Gia's words would mean nothing. If she didn't want the situation to escalate, she knew she had to keep a level head. "I know you're hurt, I know you're scared, but you're still in there, Tiger. You're still you. Oedius just… she made you sick."

Tiger roared loudly, frustrated she was trapped. Gia moved in a little closer.

"Shh, we won't hurt you, I promise," Gia said calmly. She reached her hand out, slowly, and when Tiger didn't swipe and didn't try to break out, she was hoping that this was working. She put her hand in the cage and gently touched Tiger's fur.

Quickly, without Gia knowing it happened, Tiger bit down on her arm. Gia let out a small cry, still trying not to startle, or agitate the cat, and saw the blood drip from Tiger's mouth. She knew not to pull, push, or try to pry the cat's mouth open.

"It's okay," she said to the cat and tried to keep Tiger's focus on her, instead of the Rangers who were clearly troubled by what they had seen. "It's okay, Tiger, I won't hurt you, I promise."

Tiger growled, and Gia felt her jaw tighten further. The pain at this point was excruciating, but Gia wouldn't let it show.

"I want to help, Tiger," she promised the cat. Suddenly, Tiger roared. It was enough for Gia to pull her arm out of the cat's mouth and step back far enough, so she couldn't be hurt again. However, that didn't last long. One bar to the cage snapped and Tiger was making quick work of the rest of them.

"Let's go!" Brody yelled. Tiger had already bit the one person she was least likely to harm. He wouldn't risk his other teammates lives. He made the call to retreat and they followed, taking off in as many different directions as they could go in the hopes Tiger wouldn't immediate know who to follow.

Unfortunately, she did. As Gia stumbled back, dizzy from the wound and the blood loss, Tiger kept her gaze on her mistress. Brody saw his and stopped running. He looked back and wondered if he should stay where he was and not further threaten the cat, or if he needed to run in. Tiger moved in closer to Gia and he knew, though it would cause the cat to snap, he had to go after her.

He stopped halfway though when, instead of going for a second bite or a scratch, Tiger stayed hovered over Gia. Her teeth weren't bared and Brody saw the claws retract.

Gia noticed this too. Tiger was still in power, but she let her guard down. So, Gia chuffed – it was how she knew the big cat would understand she meant no harm. Tiger didn't reciprocate the first time, but when Gia did it again, Tiger responded in kind.

Then she moved away from Gia and ran off. Brody rushed over.

"Gia…"

"I'm… fine," Gia said. She looked to her arm. Brody had already powered down and taken off his shirt to wrap the wound. "She's still in there, Brody."

"You were dangerously close to not being right," Brody said. When he was sure his shirt was wrapped tightly around her arm, he helped her back up. "She's in there. We believe you, Gia."

"We'll get back to base," Gia said. "Sarah can make another trap and…"

"We'll figure it out," Brody promised her. "I'm taking you back to Ops."


	14. More Good Than Bad

He hadn't really thought about it. Calvin just knew once he saw Sarah drop that he needed to do something. Since he happened to be closest to her, he knew he had to act fast. He knew the plan was to surround the trap, but he couldn't leave Sarah lying there helpless for even another second. The trap had kept her safe, and Preston's barrier had acted as a backup, but Calvin knew she needed more than that.

He brought her away from the park and she started to come to on his way back to the base. Since the whole city had been evacuated as a precaution, he knew there was no one in the house nearby. He assumed the door was locked, but the backyard was fenced in, providing cover in case Tiger came by.

He slipped into the backyard and gently set Sarah down as she came too. Calvin had never been alone with Sarah after a seizure. Until now, Jenny or Kelly always managed to be nearby when it happened, and both knew what to do. Calvin had only seen a seizure a couple of times.

"Sarah?" he called out to her when she opened her eyes. She didn't respond at all, so he called again. "Sarah."

This time, she looked up at him. He breathed a sigh of relief. "You're alright."

Sarah didn't respond to confirm and instead, just looked to him for a moment like she didn't recognize him. Calvin remembered he was morphed, and he remembered once seeing Kelly introduce herself to Sarah after a seizure. So, he powered down, showing his face to Sarah, and reminded her who he was.

"Talk about bad timing," he added.

"Bad timing?"

"Seizure," he explained. It made sense she didn't remember. She had blacked out quickly.

"I had a seizure?"

"You did. You're safe. And you're okay, right?" he asked.

"I… I think so."

"Are you ready to head back?"

"I want to go home," Sarah nodded. She tried to sit up, but moved too quickly and felt light headed. Calvin helped her lower herself down.

"I guess we'll sit here for a while," he said.

-Ninja-Steel-

Gia winced as Mick finished with the stitches. It wasn't the first time she had found herself with her arm in Tiger's jaw, but this was the first time Tiger bit to inflict pain. The holes in her arm were deep. Fortunately, Mick had enough experience with wounds to know how to clean, close and wrap them.

"How are you feeling?" Levi asked her. She was looking a little pale from the blood loss, and had been shaky since she returned to base. Brody had to help hold her up when they came in.

"A little tired," Gia answered honestly. "I'll be fine, though."

"I take it the trap didn't work?" Mick asked.

"It did, fortunately," Haley said with a relieved look. "But it didn't hold as long as we needed it too."

"We'll need something stronger."

"We don't," Gia shook her head. "I got through to Tiger, I know I did."

"Before or after she used your arm as a chew toy?" Kelly frowned. "She didn't even consider biting Drex and he would have deserved it. She chomped down on you like dinner!"

"I know I got through. I know, if we show her we aren't going to hurt her, I think I can keep her under control."

"I say we sedate her," Levi suggested. "Mick, RedBot, do we have something…"

"No," Gia shook her head. "We don't know how Oedius' poison will interact with sedation. Tiger could get sicker or worse."

"So we just leave Tony the Tiger on steroids running around the city?"

"I know it's stupid," Gia said. "But… we try this plan again."

"Uh… that's not stupid, that's insane."

"We lure her into a trap and I know I can get to her faster. I know I…"

"You're gonna lose an arm!"

"She won't hurt me," Gia insisted. She looked to Mick, "Can you build another trap?"

"I can see if we can salvage anymore metal," Mick nodded his head. "Are you sure this is the best idea we have?"

"I know my cat," Gia said. "I know Tiger. She's in there."

"I saw it too," Brody said. He could understand the reluctance to believe Gia. He had just been in the others' shoes. Tiger was Gia's cub, so of course the Silver Guardian would want to believe the best of her. But Brody knew he had seen the moment, just like Gia had. Tiger had Gia dead to rights, and let her go. Somehow, Gia got through to the cat and he was certain she could do it again. "We have to try. We can't let Oedius win."

"I'll keep analyzing the poison," Redbot said. "If you do get her under control, she'll need an antidote."

-Ninja-Steel-

As Sarah continued to recover from her seizure, Calvin walked the perimeter of the backyard. Just like how no one could see him behind the fence, he couldn't see out. He assumed that by now, his friends had either won, and took Tiger back home, or they had to retreat, and the big cat was still on the loose. Wanting to be safe, he had to assume the latter and so before he left, he knew he needed to make sure she wasn't nearby.

"You know, when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy, the doctor said to always be vigilant," Sarah said as Calvin looked around. "They could come out of nowhere, with no warning, and if I wasn't in a safe spot, I could get hurt. I don't think he meant running from a tiger, though."

"You scared the shit out of all of us," Calvin nodded his head. "You're so lucky that trap worked. And that Preston was quick enough to get his barrier spell going."

"And that you got me out of there."

"Of course."

"It was good you came," Sarah said. Like the others, she wasn't too sure why Calvin and Preston decided to take their Stars back when they had been adamant about waiting until they knew they had earned back the others' trust. For them to change their minds suddenly, right before an important fight, meant something must have happened, but they wouldn't say. Sarah didn't want to question it too much. It was the reason she was still alive right now, and the reason she was sure her friends were safe. "I had enough time to set up the trap, because there were enough of you there to keep Tiger busy."

"The others could have handled it."

"I wasn't sure the trap would work, though," Sarah continued. "So, it was a good thing Preston was there for a barrier, just in case. And you coming along meant someone could take me away from the fight, since I couldn't do it myself."

"It worked out."

"Calvin, you saved me," Sarah smiled. The yellow Ranger stopped his walk around the backyard and looked to her. Then he nodded his head.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"Hey, I owed you," Calvin shrugged.

"You didn't."

"Sarah…"

"I mean it, Calvin. I wasn't there but I know you killed me."

"Exactly."

"But since I wasn't there, I don't know what happened to lead up to it. I just know Oedius is a cruel monster, even by her own standards. Creating a fake Aiden? Using Drex against us? Bringing my father back and having him work for her? All of that was difficult for us and we didn't break. That torture… it must have been really bad."

"Doesn't justify killing you."

"It doesn't but… it worked out," Sarah said. "So if it helps you feel better about what happened, I forgive you."

"That really doesn't help, Sarah," Calvin sighed. He sat down in the grass across from Sarah. "Most people don't forgive the people who kill them."

"Because they're dead."

"You know what I mean."

"I also know, when we had that car accident, you pulled me out," Sarah said. "I know you stayed with me, until the ambulance showed up. I know you've come looking for me every time I've disappeared or been kidnapped. You and Hayley were the ones to find me in Thomas' basement, and I don't remember much about it, but I remember you being worried."

"I was."

"I puked in Nitro after my mother and Drex kidnapped me," Sarah said. "And I gave your stuffed gorilla a pretty good beating too and I didn't hear a word about that."

"You had been through enough." Calvin shrugged.

"You didn't like Kelly much when we first met, because she outed me," Sarah said. "But when you saw she was in trouble, you still helped her. You stood up for her against her dad when you could have easily walked away."

"I wouldn't have."

"But you could," Sarah said. "And when we were in the tent, and I had a nightmare, you stayed up with me until I felt better. And just now, when my seizure has the worst timing I think a seizure can ever have, you're the one who gets me out of trouble. You've saved me far more than you've ever killed me, and the only reason it's even a contest is because you were tortured into doing something unimaginable and I can't imagine how bad it must have been for you to do that. I know you're a good guy, Calvin."

Calvin paused for a minute as he let Sarah's words sink in. Then he chuckled.

"You get yourself in a lot of trouble."

"Yeah… I know," Sarah sighed. "That's why I want to know about Gia and Serena's days as Rangers, because they always tell me that compared to them, I'm nothing."

"I feel bad for their teams, then."

"Me too," Sarah chuckled. "Should we head back now? The others are probably wondering where we are."

"I think we're good to go," Calvin nodded. "Can you walk by yourself now?"

"I'm good."

-Ninja-Steel-

Tiger dragged herself back into Oedius' ship. She knew she wasn't herself. She knew she was tearing apart the city and that she had hurt many people in the process, but she couldn't control herself. There was a poison running through her body, and the more chaos she caused, the less pain she seemed to feel. Tearing apart the city seemed to be the only thing that helped. Fighting the Rangers eased that pain.

She was in tremendous pain now. She had lost her fight against the Rangers, but worse than that: she could have won. The taste of Gia's blood was still in her mouth and Tiger hated it. She hated knowing that she had hurt Gia. She hated knowing that she had caused pain to her friends and especially to her mother.

But Gia had reached her. Tiger remembered her mother's voice and heard Gia telling her it would be alright. She trusted that Gia would help her and wanted to stay, but she didn't have the poison under control. She'd never hurt her mother, but she couldn't speak for the Rangers. She didn't want to hurt them, so she knew she couldn't stay.

She returned to Oedius and saw a look of disappointment on the monster's face. She let out a growl, apologizing to Oedius for failing. Oedius sighed.

"Well, you've caused enough destruction," she said. "And try as they might, but the Rangers can't stop you."

Tiger nodded her head, and with a soft growl, promised results for Oedius the next time she went out.

Oedius smiled. She knew the poison running through Tiger was causing her to create destruction for the city. She knew it made the big cat fight against her own allies, and she was strong enough to take on all the Rangers without much effort. With her armour as added protection, it would take a lot of firepower from the Rangers just to slow her down, and since they didn't want to hurt her, they wouldn't resort to that.

Oedius had also seen Tiger soften up for her mistress, but she didn't let that bother her. The poison would kill Tiger one way or the other. Either the Rangers would have to put her down to stop her, or they would wait so long that the poison itself would kill her. There was no cure and Oedius had designed the poison herself. Even if Tiger failed her, the Rangers, and the city, were sure to take a huge blow.

"You can rest," Oedius said to the cat. "But I want you back in the city before dark. Don't give the Rangers time to catch their breathe."

Tiger gave her head a little nod and then set off to find somewhere to rest up for a bit. As she did, she walked by Oedius' sleeping quarters. There was a heavy lock on the door, and a sign that seemed to warn people to keep out. Tiger checked the hall for anyone passing by, then used her increased strength to tear break the lock. Checking again that no one was around, Tiger pushed the door open and made her way inside.

It looked much like the home of some criminals that Tiger had investigated. Plans were laid out, scattered everywhere in the room. There were pictures of the Rangers, with notes of personal detail that Oedius knew about each of them. Tiger grabbed the plans and the notes and tucked them in her armour. She saw blueprints for weapons and then she saw exactly what the Rangers needed most. There, with all the weapons blueprints, was the pink Power Star.

Tiger knew Sarah had lost hers a while back. When Harley had demanded to speak to Sarah, the pink Ranger, he set a trap for her. Knowing the police was looking for her, he drew her out and had a friend contact the department. The officers who arrived insisted on arresting Sarah, and demanded she turn over her Power Star.

Oedius had sent Badonna as this happened, and her loyal servant snatched the star from the police before killing them and some students. The high school was still reeling from that attack, as well as Harley's attack. Security had increased, and Tiger had some visits scheduled with the school to help some of the students who needed comfort. Oedius had the Star ever since, and the Rangers had been down one.

Not anymore. Now that she had the Power Star in her hands, Tiger knew she had to get home. She had to get back to Gia and give the Rangers what they would need.

She checked the hallway again as she slowly left the room. Her breathing was getting heavy and her muscles were sore from the poison. Tiger wouldn't be able to move as quickly or as quietly as before.

But she had to make it home. She had to find Gia and the Rangers. She had to trust her mother when she said everything was alright. The Rangers needed the plans, the blueprints, and they needed their pink Star.

Tiger found her way off the ship and ran as quickly as she could.


	15. The Pink Star Returns

Her lungs felt like they were going to collapse and her muscles burned. Tiger felt rage building up and was tempted to destroy anything in her path, but she knew she had to stay focused. She remembered Gia, and remembered what had happened to her mother when she let the poison take over. She thought of all the other people she had hurt, and the destruction she had caused the city.

She needed to make things right, and if bringing the Power Star back to the Rangers would make amends, Tiger would do so.

Once she reached the Ribbon Tree, it was a little easier to ignore the temptation to destroy. There wasn't much around that she could throw, crush, or hurt. She ran up to the tree and as she beat on the trunk, she tore off a few of the ribbons. It wasn't the kind of destruction Oedius wanted, but at least it was something.

The Rangers came out of Ninja Ops fully morphed. The bring colours of their suits irritated Tiger and she let out a deep growl. As they readied themselves for a fight, Tiger shook her head. She was better than that. She had to resist.

Gia stepped forward and removed her helmet. Tiger had already indicated that she didn't want to fight, but Gia had to make sure that would stay true. Very slowly, she extended her hand.

Tiger did snap at it, once, but missed. She saw Gia flinched and knew her mother was right to worry. She lowered herself down on all fours and turned her head away. Gia reached out again and touched her face.

"You're okay," she promised the big cat. "I'll take care of you. I've got you, Tiger."

The pain was unimaginable, but Tiger resisted it and gestured to her armour. As Gia held her head, she told the Rangers to help take the armour off. Tiger felt the heavy metal fall off her, and with it where Oedius' blueprints and notes. Hayley picked them up.

"She brought us something," she said.

"Did you take that from Oedius?" Gia asked her cat and Tiger nodded. "Won't be long before Oedius finds out. Let's get her inside."

"Inside?" Levi frowned. "With all our equipment and the Prism and…"

"I like my odds against Tiger than against Oedius a lot better," Gia answered. "If she finds out Tiger took this from her, she'll come get it."

"Inside then," Levi agreed. Gia very carefully helped Tiger inside Ninja Ops. She brought her over to the couch and let the cat lay down as Hayley brought the blueprints and notes over to the workstation.

"Sarah?" Hayley called. She couldn't read anything Oedius had written, but the Rangers had learned that Sarah could. It seemed when Viera had revived her, Sarah lost the ability to read or write in English or Portuguese, but she had learned to read and write in any language Viera would have been familiar with. Fortunately, Oedius' language was one of them.

"These are weapons," Sarah said about the blueprints, and put them all together so she, Mick and RedBot could go through them later. Then she picked up the papers with their names on them. "This is us."

"Us?"

"Everything about us," Sarah said. She picked up the page about herself. "Sarah Thompson. Father: Bill Thompson. Mother: Jenny Thompson."

Sarah liked reading that. For one, it was true. Jenny was her mother, and would always be the only mother Sarah claimed. Also, it meant Oedius hadn't made the connection with Kathryn. Hopefully, that meant she was done touching Sarah's family – not that there was really that many of them left.

"Skills," Sarah continued to read. "Intelligent, by human standards. Okay, I'm a bit offended by that one. She does remember she needed me to make the time machine, right?"

"Keep going," Kelly said. Sarah nodded.

"Weapon designer and builder for the team. Learns quickly, adapts quickly, bounces back quickly."

"Sounds like you're quick," Preston chuckled.

"I do like fast," Sarah nodded. She continued to read, "Weaknesses: brain injury. Even a light blow to head could result in death."

"I don't like that she knows that," Kelly frowned.

"I wonder why she hasn't tried it," Brody said.

"She needs us alive, remember?" Calvin told him. "It's one of the reasons I knew I had to kill Sarah. Our Power Stars need us alive to have power, so the torture could have lasted forever."

"Even more reason not to be pissed with you for killing me," Sarah said.

"This is such a weird conversation," Levi muttered.

Sarah continued to read, "Seizures, which occur spontaneously and often without warning. Debilitating."

"She's not wrong," Preston nodded.

"Other facts: uncle is former Ranger," Sarah read. "takes care of her after parents' passing. Teacher is also former Ranger. Constantly protected by earth law enforcement, also former Ranger. Dating green Ranger, easily forgives teammates, so will be hard to manipulate against friends. Aw, that's kind of sweet."

"She's got almost as many notes as I do," Kelly said. "Is it like that…"

"For all of us," Sarah nodded as she picked up the other pages and quickly glanced at them. "They're all that detailed. She's even got a file for Mick, RedBot, Serena and Gia."

"It's no wonder she's always a step ahead of us," Levi said. He looked to all the papers. While he couldn't read what was written, and couldn't decipher much more than what was drawn on the blueprints, he could tell that the notes, the plans, and the blueprints meant trouble. "She's always planning."

"Plan A, B, C, D," Sarah confirmed. "What to do if the Rangers defeat a monster too quickly. What to do if a battle takes too long. What to do if a Ranger is on the verge of death. Which Rangers to kill and when."

"So, she does want to kill us?" Calvin frowned.

"This is after she takes over the planet and doesn't need the Power Stars anymore," Sarah assured him. "The only thing she doesn't have planned is what to do if we find her plans."

"That would have been way too convenient," Kelly said. Sarah gave her head a nod and put the papers back down on the workstation, then picked up Oedius' plans. She had already recognized from their titles, plans that Oedius already put into place. Using Aiden, Drex and her father were all there, as well as time travel. Sarah had to assume that poisoning Tiger would be in her plans too, and if it was, hopefully, the formula for the poison and the cure would be there.

"Yes!" she called out when she found the plans for Tiger. She read through them quickly, then told Mick what was in the poison. It would be much easier than trying to analyze it themselves. Then she searched the page for a cure. She flipped the page over, but there was still no cure. She checked the next page and no cure. "I… I don't get it."

She read through it again, scanning for any minor detail – anything she may have missed. She looked for cure, antidote, what to do if the poison was too strong, but there was nothing. There was no cure.

"There's got to be something we can do," Mick told her. They didn't want to alert Gia to this just yet.

"Either we kill her, or the poison does," Sarah whispered. "That was Oedius' intention."

"There's got to be another way," Preston said as he joined in. "Maybe my magic can help?"

Mick thought about it for a moment. He knew magic had been used in other galaxies as cures for ailments, but even in the most magical places, that didn't occur very often. Magic wasn't supposed to be used to interfere with the natural process of life. If someone was sick and meant to die of their illness, using magic to alter their fate could have devastating consequences.

And just like with medicine on earth, the stronger the ailment, and the more it threatened life, the more intense the spell needed to be. Preston very well could completely drain himself if he used his magic and could wind up spending more time in recovery. And with the Rangers already short a Power Star, Mick wasn't sure that was a risk they were ready to take.

"Let me do this," Preston begged his mentor when he saw Mick was leaning towards refusing.

"Oedius isn't going to be happy Tiger left with all her notes," Mick said. "We can't expect her to just sit back and not do something about it. If you're recovering, the team…"

"Mick, she's a planner," Sarah said and pointed to the notes. "Absolutely everything she's ever done, anything she's every thought about doing, and all the outcomes she could have thought of, are written down here."

"Except what she might do if we found this," Mick told Sarah. "And if she's planned for everything else, why wouldn't she consider this?"

"Mick, I have to do this. After the game room…"

"I understand," he told Preston. "I know that guilt will follow you around for a long time. But that's between you and Sarah. Helping Tiger…"

"Mick, this poison is meant to kill her," Sarah said. "I know we'll be down a couple of Rangers but…"

Suddenly, Tiger started to heave and choke. Worried this was the poison, Sarah and Preston looked to Mick desperately. He now had no idea what to do. If this was the end for Tiger, they wouldn't have enough time to create and test a cure for the poison. Still, having a Ranger out of commission, knowing Oedius could strike them hard at any moment, was a huge gamble.

However, before Mick could make the call, Tiger regurgitated the pink Power Star. It fell from her mouth and onto the floor. The Rangers could only stare at it.

"Is that…"

"Oh, that's gross," Kelly frowned.

"That's my star!" Sarah cried out. She rushed to pick it up, then stopped herself before she touched it. She looked up at Tiger. "Did you find this?"

The big cat nodded her head.

"At least that's the end it came out," Levi said. Sarah winced as she picked up the Star, then thanked Tiger with a big smile. She turned to Mick.

"I'm ready to kick some serious ass."

"Alright," Mick nodded and Preston jumped with excitement as he reached for his wand. He made his way over to Tiger and took a moment to think about the cure spell. Gia looked hesitant.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We don't have a cure, but Tiger's suffered long enough," Preston said. "If I use magic, I can help her body flush out the poison."

"Is that a good idea?" Gia asked. "Magic sounds… hard."

"I want to do this," Preston nodded.

"Go Presto," Sarah encouraged him, then looked down at the Star in her hand. She had forgotten how powerful it felt to have it on her.

"Are you going to wash that?" Kelly asked her. "It smells like barf."

"I'm sanitizing the hell out of it," Sarah nodded, then she turned to Oedius' notes. "Actually, can you do it?"

"You want me to touch that?"

"I have an idea," Sarah said and put the star in her girlfriend's hands before going through Oedius' blueprints and finding the weapon design she wanted. "This will work."


	16. No Forgiveness

Oedius hated being outwitted, especially when it was by a creature who was so primitive.

She had no idea how it could have happened. The poison was supposed to be so potent, Tiger would have no choice but to turn against the Rangers. Instead, it seemed Oedius had underestimated the bond between the cat and the Silver Guardian. When Tiger returned to the ship, she broke into Oedius' quarters and stole everything. All the notes she had taken on the Rangers, the best ways to hurt them individually and as a team, plans she had for future attacks, weapons she planed on building… Tiger had taken it all!

Worse, though, she had found and stolen the pink Power Star. The one thing Oedius needed to power up those weapons she had designed. There was no power source quite like the Power Stars and without it, Oedius was back to fighting with less powerful weapons.

She felt like she was back at square one. As it turned out, she had relied on the Power Star too much for future plans and, embarrassingly, hadn't thought about what to do if the Rangers took it back.

Fortunately, she did know what to do if the Rangers found out all her plans. There was a monster she knew who had destroyed planets by himself with a simple trick: deception. He lulled is opponents into a false sense of overconfidence by pretending he wasn't strong enough to back up his own claims. He would challenge them to a fight, but then as soon as his opponents gained the advantage, he would retreat. His opponents, believing he wasn't much of a treat, would let down their guard and when he struck again, they weren't ready.

If the Rangers thought they had all her plans, now would be the perfect time to use this monster.

-Ninja Steel-

It was the day after Tiger returned to Ninja Ops. Preston had used his magic to heal her from Oedius' poisoning and needed time to rest up. After using so much magic, his body was exhausted, and since he was still recovering from his beating in the game room, he was feeling especially weak. He stayed in Ninja Ops, so there was always someone who could keep an eye on him.

It seemed his magic was successful, but no one would be sure until Tiger was also feeling better. She had returned to her regular size and strength, but was still feeling a bit sick. Gia stayed close to keep an eye on the cat and watch for any changes – good or bad.

Sarah was also spending the day in Ninja Ops. Finding Oedius' blueprints had given her an idea for a new weapon the Rangers could use. It would be more powerful than what they had currently and hopefully would give them a slight edge over Oedius, especially now that she was without plans.

Brody and Levi had gone up to their house. The whole city had been evacuated as a precaution by the Silver Guardians. Since she was a wild animal, Tiger was already on thin ice with most people. She had proven that she could be controlled by Gia, but if she crossed the line, many wouldn't be quick to forgive. They hadn't been able to stop Tiger from hurting people under Oedius' influence, but at least they had minimized the damage quickly by moving everyone out.

Dane had stayed, though. The house was far enough from the city that his property wasn't affected by Tiger at all, and he wanted to be nearby in case the Rangers needed him. He also had to handle Preston's and Calvin's parents. They had evacuated with the city and were worried for their sons, who hadn't been with them. Dane was proactive and called them, lying by saying that the boys had been hanging out with his sons when the evacuation was called, and that they were safe with him.

Aaron had evacuated, but only going as far as the Romero farm with Shane. Brody and Levi were headed up there to check on their father and let the three of them know that it was safe to be back in the city.

Since it was just her, Calvin and Hayley, Kelly felt it was now time to thank Calvin for stepping in during their fight the day before. When Sarah's seizure started, Kelly remembered feeling terrified. She was too far to get to the pink Ranger quickly, even with the upgrades to her wheelchair, and Tiger was sure to tear her apart if she got her hands on her. Fortunately, Preston had put up the barrier and Calvin, being close to Sarah, rushed in to take her away.

She arrived at the school, where the three of them agreed to meet for training. With everyone else busy, and the city completely empty, there wasn't much else to do. Though they assumed Oedius had no plans now that they were gone, they couldn't be sure of that and wanted to be ready, just in case she had a contingency.

When she saw Calvin, she reached around to the bag hanging off the back of her chair and pulled out a tub of ice-cream. She offered it to him with a smile.

"Thank you."

Calvin looked to the ice-cream, then to Kelly. He was a little confused. Ice-cream was usually only given to help someone through a rough time, or occasionally when someone crossed a line and wanted to make an apology. Calvin knew Kelly wasn't thrilled with him since they had come back from their time travel, but she hadn't done anything that would warrant buying ice-cream.

"For what?" he asked.

"Saving Sarah."

"Kel…"

"You stepped up today. I know you would have done it for anyone, and anyone would have done it for her. I know you were closest, and it was the right thing to do but you still did it. You got her out of there, you brought her home safely. Thank you."

"I think you're right," Calvin said. He accepted the ice-cream and opened the tub. Kelly took three spoons out of her bag and handed the couple one each, so they could all start eating. "I think… I'll never forgive myself."

"Calvin…" Hayley started, trying to offer comfort, but he shook his head.

"I made a bad call and… even though everything turned out okay, I don't think I'll ever get to a point where I'll tell myself that it's okay."

"You had to do it," Hayley told him, but Calvin shook his head again.

"Did I?" he asked. "Once I was told to kill her, I didn't really think of any other options. I didn't consider turning on the guard, or even just refusing. I just… did it. I can't forgive myself for that, but I know I can make sure that choices like that are never made again. Like outing your future girlfriend."

Hayley turned to Kelly with a frown, "We're still on that?"

"I am. Sarah's not. Only me, actually. No one else," Kelly said. "But Calvin, Preston and I talked and… after doing something so hurtful, you never really forgive yourself for it."

"Shouldn't you, though?" Hayley asked.

"I'll never forgive Katie for outing me."

"She treated you like shit too. You didn't treat Sarah like shit."

"But that's not the same. I'll never forgive her for outing me. I… I just can't do it. Until I moved here, I was scared and bullied and ostracized every single day. Anytime my parents wanted to talk, I was terrified they had found out. I'm surprised they never clued in. When Katie outed me, I feared for my life every single day. That didn't happen to Sarah, and I'm thankful for that, but if it had, that would have been my fault. I can't forgive Katie, I can't forgive myself. But I can do better. Calvin got the same luck as me. His actions didn't stick, but that doesn't mean the intention wasn't bad."

"It'll get easier to live with it," Calvin said. "But… as long as Sarah's okay then all I can expect from myself is to move forward."

"And you did. In a big way," Kelly said as she pointed to the ice-cream. "You showed up, and I know it's because you and Preston were there that Sarah was safe."

"Do we know why that seizure happened?" Hayley asked. While Sarah was epileptic because of her brain injury, her seizures weren't all that common. The Rangers didn't have to worry much about her having an episode in the middle of a battle. While they were always alert, just in case, there were no plans for it. However, since it happened once, it was possible it could happen again. Hayley wanted to prevent that.

"I asked her," Kelly nodded. "Apparently, Gia showing up out of the blue last night, and then the emergency with Tiger this morning made Sarah forget to take her meds. And it's been pretty spotty lately too with the kidnapping and stuff."

"So, she shouldn't have been out there."

"She promised to be more careful about it," Kelly said. "If she's skipped some meds for whatever reason, she won't come out on the battlefield."

"She'll try to remember that she forgot?" Calvin frowned.

"It's not a perfect system," Kelly shrugged. "But she'll be more careful. I think we all will. Either way, I'm glad that now I know I can trust everyone on the team again. Thanks, Calvin."

"It won't happen again," he promised before hearing how his words sounded. "The murder, not the saving lives. That _will_ happen again.

-Ninja-Steel-

Sarah wanted to make a hard comeback. Oedius had taken her Power Star and used it to hurt a lot of people. Before obtaining the star, the fox was dangerous, but with the star in her hand, she was nearly unstoppable. It was only thanks to Tiger that Sarah had her Star back, and she intended on proving to Oedius that Rangers would always fight back.

Better still, Tiger had stolen more than just the Power Star. She had taken all of Oedius' plans and her ideas for weapons. Oedius would have to start from square one again with plans, now that they were all revealed. As for the weapons, Sarah had already been through them all and most of them were outright dangerous, even for Oedius. Sarah wouldn't dream of ever building these weapons for real, but they had inspired her for something more.

The Rangers weren't exactly falling behind Oedius. They were able to foil her plans; usually, though, Oedius could cause a lot of damage before they could. Sarah liked to think that they were playing catch up. Oedius was always one step ahead of them, but they did catch up. Then Oedius would pull ahead again. It wasn't terrible, but they could certainly do better. As Rangers, they could inspire a lot more confidence if they were able to stop Oedius before things got bad.

To even the score a little bit, the Rangers would need stronger weapons. The Prism hadn't shared anything new with them lately, and they were running low on Super Steel. To forge new weapons, they would have to melt down old Power Stars. It wasn't ideal, since they never knew what Oedius had planned and therefore, never new which weapon they could sacrifice.

However, Oedius' blueprints gave Sarah an idea for a more powerful weapon, without making new Ninja Steel. If she could give more power to their blades, the weapons they used most often, they would be far stronger and the monsters Oedius sent to fight them, or even Oedius herself, wouldn't know what hit them.

"Your uncle's on the phone," Mick's voice snapped Sarah out of her own head as she looked up at her mentor. He offered her her phone. Sarah had been so caught up in her work, she hadn't heard it ring.

"Thanks," she said as she took the phone. "Hi, Shane."

"_How are you doing?"_ he asked her. Sarah knew he liked to check up. He was responsible for her well-being and since she was rarely home now, he liked to make phone calls, especially after he knew she was in a fight.

"Busy. Working," she told him. "We got Tiger back. She's recovering from the poisoning right now and it's looking good."

"_That's good. So, the city's safe?"_

"Gia's going to give it another night before she makes the call that everyone can come back. Just so they know Tiger's not still out there causing trouble," Sarah said. "You can head home, though, if you want."

"_Will you be there?"_

Sarah looked to her work, then shook her head, "I'm a bit busy. Tiger brought back my Star, and Oedius' plans and weapons blueprints. I'm working on something right now that should give us a lot more power in battle and hopefully it helps us stop playing catch up."

"_So, you'll be staying at Ops tonight?"_

"Yeah. But I promise, I'll pop by at some point tomorrow. "I'll need some of my tools."

"_See you then,"_ Shane said and hung up. Sarah knew he was a bit upset. Jenny was her mother, but she was also Shane's sister. They were both still grieving her loss and their way of coping with it didn't line up. Shane wanted to stay close. He knew how much Sarah meant to Jenny and wanted to do right by her, which was hard when Sarah was rarely home. However, they would have a lot more time together after Oedius was no longer a problem. Sarah hoped Shane could wait it out until then, certain that, being a former Ranger himself, he understood.

However, the alarms went off. Sarah couldn't get back to work if she wanted to as their scanners picked up on Buzzcam activity. RedBot pulled up the screen while Hayley, Calvin and Kelly made their way inside Ops.

"Looks like Oedius is sending in a monster," RedBot announced.

"Likely coming to collect what Tiger stole," Kelly said. "Are Brody and Levi...?"

"They're at home," Mick answered. "I'll call and have them meet you there."

"Do you need a hand?" Gia asked and looked up from where she was sitting with Tiger. Preston was still recovering from using his magic and so the Rangers would be down one for this fight. Assuming Oedius wouldn't take being stolen from kindly, Gia figured she could lend a hand. Tiger was doing better and Mick and RedBot could monitor her for an hour or so.

"We'll call if we need help," Sarah assured the former yellow Ranger. "Stay with Tiger. Hopefully when we get back, she's feeling a lot better."

"Be safe!" Gia called out at the Rangers rushed off.


	17. Overconfidence

Sarah, Kelly, Hayley and Calvin arrived in the city where the monster was waiting for them. While there was only them in the city as a result of Tiger's attack, the Rangers didn't want to risk having monsters running around and causing more damage than there already was. Stopping him now, before he let things escalate, was much better than letting him cause more trouble, especially when Oedius had proven that her moves couldn't be calculated by the Rangers. If Sarah had had more time to build her new blade before the monster had shown up, they would know that they had the strength to stop her in her tracks, but for now, they were still just keeping up.

"So, these are the mighty Rangers?" the monster called out when he saw the four of them arrive. "I heard rumours there were more of you. This is going to be too easy."

"Think again," Calvin shook his head. "We may not be at full strength, but that's never stopped us before."

"I'll make easy work of you," the monster said. "I am Brax, conqueror of planets. I eat colourful rebels like you for breakfast in the morning."

"Like we haven't heard that before," Kelly muttered. She turned to her team, "Is there a reason for the colourful spandex aside from tease fodder for the monsters?"

"Telling us apart," Sarah shrugged.

"Oedius trusted me to take back what was stolen from her," Brax called out. "You can bet I'll do that, and then some."

"Can we just get to it?" Hayley asked.

"Agreed. I'm done with the trash talking," Sarah nodded her head and showed off her Power Star, "Brax, is this what Oedius is looking for?"

"Sarah, don't tease him with it," Kelly frowned.

"Let's get this fight going," Sarah shrugged. Brax charged towards the Rangers, coming in with a loud roar. Sarah and the others gripped their blades tightly, ready for a fight. As Sarah expected from her taunt, Brax came for her, but she was ready. She swung her sword and brought it across Brax' chest.

It wasn't the most powerful attack, especially since Sarah wasn't trying to defeat him in a single blow, but rather hold him off until the others could get a shot in. However, as soon as he was hit, Brax crumbled to the ground and cried out loudly in pain.

"Oh! Ow! The pain! The pain!"

"I barely touched you," Sarah frowned.

"It hurts! It hurts so bad!" Brax said and started to crawl away from the Rangers in terror. Sarah lowered her blade and looked to her friends.

"Should we… just kill him?"

"We're the good guys," Calvin shrugged. "I don't think we kill anything crying out in pain like that."

"You're too strong, it's not fair!" Brax shouted. He was now far enough from the Rangers that he got up and started to stomp his feet. "I told Madam Oedius I wasn't ready for this! I knew it! I just knew it!"

"Are you… okay?" Kelly asked, and it felt weird to check in on a monster mid-battle, but it was starting to become clear that Brax was in over his head. "Do you… Do you need help?"

"Not from you! Stay away from me!" Brax shouted. It was then that Brody and Levi called out as they arrived to back up their friends. Brax looked in shock before disappearing. Brody and Levi powered down, along with the others, and frowned.

"Everything okay?"

"I barely hit him," Sarah shook her head. "I've hit harder than that in training."

"Not words your girlfriend likes to hear after she was promised you'd be safer," Kelly frowned.

"Okay, well I'm sure it hurt but…"

"He basically broke down in tears," Calvin said. "He just… ran away."

"He ran away?" Levi frowned. "That doesn't sound right."

"We have all of Oedius' plans," Hayley reminded them. "All the monsters she planned on using in her fights, the plans she had for them if they won and if they failed… maybe Brax is the best she's got that we don't know about."

"The best she's got?" Calvin frowned. "If he's the best she's got, then she's the only thing standing in our way."

"I don't know," Brody shook his head. "That doesn't sound like Oedius. She has to have something stronger."

"Then why send out the cry baby?" Kelly asked.

"I don't know, but if this _is_ the best she's got… I don't think she'll be much of a threat to us anymore," Sarah said, then smiled. "I think I'll call Shane and let him know that I can make it home tonight."

-Ninja-Steel-

Gia watched the fight with Mick and RedBot. She had been ready to jump in if needed, but as it turned out, the monster was no threat.

At least, he appeared not to be a threat. Brax reminded her of Vekar. He liked to talk tough, but when it came down to it, he was nothing more than a big baby. However, when pushed, and when he really wanted something, Vekar could be a true threat. His problem was that he overestimated his own abilities, having grown up believing that he was, and would, always be the best at everything.

Brax seemed similar, in a way. He talked tough, and he was the monster Oedius had entrusted to retrieve her stolen things. However, one attack had him on his knees, begging for the fight to end and insisting that the Rangers were much stronger than he expected.

It was possible this was all Oedius had left now that her plans had been revealed, but it was also possible that Brax was pulling a Vekar.

"I don't trust it," Gia stated and Mick looked to her with a nod. Something did seem wrong about that fight. He was glad the Rangers weren't hurt, and glad that it had ended without much trouble, but something was off.

"Do you think this is a ploy?" he asked. Gia shrugged. She really couldn't be sure. She just knew she didn't have a good feeling.

"One of our big bads, Vekar, was a cry-baby. He would actually stop a fight to sit on his butt and cry about the fact that we weren't letting him win."

"He knew he was in a war, right?"

Gia nodded her head. "He was pathetic, and it was easy to get the upper hand, but when he wanted to, he could be dangerous. I hope that's not the case with Brax but…"

"It's possible," Mick agreed. Just then, Brody, Levi, Calvin, Hayley and Kelly returned to the base. They were laughing about the fight, and at Brax.

"We barely had to do anything," Calvin laughed, then looked over to Mick. "That was the easiest fight ever."

"I could have beaten him myself," Kelly nodded, then pointed to Preston who was still resting. "Preston could have beaten him alone. That's how easy it was."

"Maybe it was easy now but…"

"Oedius doesn't have anything better," Hayley smiled and turned to Gia. "You did the head count, right? When we blew up the ship, Galvanax and everyone died except for Oedius. She's got to be out of help by now."

"I counted all the people on Brody's list," Gia reminded them. "That doesn't include monsters that Brody didn't know about."

"But there couldn't have been a lot," Levi said. "Sure, Oedius survived, but it was a while before she was ready to fight. Maybe… we beat them all."

"I don't…"

"Should be easy sailing from here on out," Brody nodded with a smile. Mick looked like he wanted to say something, but he caught Gia shaking her head in the corner of his eye. He turned to her.

"I learned a few lessons the hard way."

Tiger scoffed. Gia glared at her cub, then sighed.

"Okay, fine. I learn every lesson the hard way," she said. "Either these guys are right, and this is the beginning of the end for Oedius, or they're wrong and when Brax comes back stronger, they'll get a good ass kicking."

"Is that safe?" Mick asked.

"I'll be there for backup," Gia promised. "I can get them in and out quickly if they're in over their heads."

"I don't like this idea."

"Movies?" he heard Calvin suggest and the Rangers all nodded in agreement before heading out. Mick checked the time. If it was up to him, he would recommend the Rangers do a bit of training before a movie, since it would be too late after, but they already didn't want to believe that Brax was anything more than a weakling. He sighed as he watched them go.

"They'll be fine," Gia promised. "At least we have Sarah's new weapon, if things get bad."

"The one she didn't finish?" Mick asked as he held up the plans for Sarah's upgraded Ninja blade.

"She wasn't with the others," Gia said. "Maybe she's off training."

"I doubt it," Mick said. He picked up Sarah's notebook, "Can you keep an eye on Preston? I'm going to see where she got to."


	18. Rebuilding a City

Sarah looked to the pile of takeout containers on the kitchen counter, evidence that Shane made dinner. He wasn't much of a cook. When necessary, he could take care of the basics, but even that proved to be a challenge for him. If he was responsible for making a meal for himself and others, he preferred to order in.

"You were still living with your parents when you were a Ranger, huh?" Sarah asked as she turned to her uncle, who was already starting to pile food onto his plate.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because there isn't a single Ranger who could survive on a diet of burger and fries."

"I know a caveman who would beg to differ," Shane smirked. "But to answer your question; yes, my mom made all my meals for me. Why, is this why you don't come home very often?"

"Part of the reason," Sarah said, then looked up at her uncle. "It's still hard. You know that, right?"

"I do," Shane nodded. "I just miss you sometimes, is all."

"You're welcome in Ninja Ops all the time," Sarah assured him. "I mean, you helped build it, so that's only fair."

"I know," Shane smiled. He had all the food he wanted for now, so he turned to the TV. "Any recommendations?"

"Whatever you want," Sarah told him as she heard a knock on the door. She let Shane get started with finding something to watch as she went to answer the door.

"Mick?" she asked, seeing him. "Uh… what are you doing?"

Mick held out her notebook. "We didn't see you after the fight."

"Shane wanted me to come home for dinner," Sarah said. "Since that fight was so easy, I figured I could sacrifice one night of work to hang out with him."

"Okay," Mick nodded his head. At least her excuse wasn't like the others. She was spending time with family. That was important. "So, I can take this back to Ninja Ops for you to work on tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Sarah said with a frown, then shook her head. "Probably not tomorrow. It's been forever since Kelly and I have had a proper date night, so I think we might do that."

"But what about Brax?"

"He's easy. You saw, I barely touched him," Sarah said. She opened the door a little wider. "Want to come in? There's a lot of food."

"Is it really a good idea to… underestimate him?"

"Mick, I don't think I'm underestimating him at all. We fought, he acted all tough but as soon as I touched him, he started crying like a baby. Madam Oedius gave us a soft one, I say we take advantage and relax."

"Repeat that sentence again," Mick said. "Tell me if that makes sense."

"Madam Oedius gave us an easy monster," Sarah said.

"Knowing Oedius, and knowing what she's done… that makes sense?"

"We just stole her plans. Maybe she's just filling in time."

"With a monster she knows you can easily beat?" Mick asked. "You might be right, Sarah, and I hope you are, but just in case…"

"Sarah! I'm gonna start without you," Shane called out. Sarah looked over her shoulder at the TV, then back to Mick.

"I gotta go. I promise, I'll get around to the Ninja Blades when I have a chance. Don't worry, Mick. We've got this."

"But…"

"Do you want to stay for dinner? Trust me, there's more than enough food. Shane always overestimates his appetite."

"Alright," Mick nodded. He did need to eat.

-Ninja-Steel-

The evening in Ninja Ops was rather peaceful. RedBot needed to recharge his batteries and Preston was still in his bed, recovering from using his magic to heal Tiger. Tiger had spent the day recovering too, but Preston's magic had worked miracles and now, finally, the big cat was returning to her normal self. She was still tired, but she did happily lay with Gia on the couch, snuggled up with her mother.

Gia wasn't expecting visitors. Mick had gone to check on Sarah and texted to let her know he would be spending the night with her. Gia knew Mick wasn't comfortable with the idea of letting the Rangers fail if they were wrong about Brax, but they had already made up their minds about his abilities. Gia knew how stubborn Rangers could be and had a feeling this was a lesson they needed to learn for themselves. Mick didn't want to let that happen. He wanted to be prepared and Sarah was the only one who knew how to upgrade the Ninja Blades.

All the other Rangers were out seeing a movie, and then likely heading home after, so Gia was a bit startled when someone walked into Ninja Ops. She looked up and covered her heart with her hand when she saw it was only Emma.

"You scared me."

"Sorry," Emma chuckled. "The kids are with moms, so I thought I'd see how Tiger's doing."

Emma looked to the big cat, who seemed rather comfortable laying across the couch with Gia stroking her head. She let out a little laugh. "I guess we're all good, then."

"Thank god," Gia nodded. "How's the fallout?"

"Some people are ordering for Tiger to be, uh… fired," Emma said. Fired wasn't the right word. Though Emma and Tiger couldn't understand each other like Tiger and Gia, there was still a basic understanding. Tiger would know what Emma meant if she had said put down, which was how some people really felt about the big cat. "But the numbers aren't much higher than usual. People who didn't want her walking around the city just feel a bit stronger about it, and some people are a little more uncomfortable. Most people are still okay with her, as long as she wears the vest, obviously."

"Obviously," Gia nodded. The vest didn't exactly protect the public from Tiger. Its purpose was to protect the cat. If Tiger wanted, she could still attack, just like any other Tiger, and the vest would only make it harder to stop her, since it was bullet proof. However, the vest served to identify Tiger as Gia's pet and a Silver Guardian animal. People knew she was well trained and looking out for their best interest, and with the vest on, they knew she wasn't a random tiger that escaped the zoo.

"Wes already said since the numbers didn't change much, and we poll everyone regardless of criminal records, we can spin it as only those who might have a real run-in with Tiger are opposing her, and people who don't plan on committing crimes in the future are okay having her around. She'll be fine."

"That's good," Gia smiled and gave Tiger another good head scratch. She'd fight relentlessly for her cub, but if Wes and Eric wanted her fired (really fired, not put down), there was little she could do to stop them.

"But there is a problem," Emma said. "When we asked people their feelings about Tiger, we also asked when they planned to return to Summer Cove."

"I'm putting out the all clear tomorrow."

"It won't do much," Emma shook her head. "Most people don't plan on coming back. Between Oedius' attacks being more frequent and deadly, and the school being a huge target, and Tiger tearing apart most of the city… people would rather just cut their losses and move. And Eric and Wes want to accommodate them."

"How?"

"We're hiring more civilian workers to do the paperwork," Emma said. "There are jobs opening up in Silver Hills, Angel Grove, Amber Beach and Harwood."

"Good for Harwood. That means it'll grow," Gia said.

"But Summer Cove is going to take a huge hit. And the cities that do take in more people are going to be more crowded. Wes and Eric promised more support…"

"Why are they helping?" Gia asked. "Summer Cove is still safe…"

"Most people don't see it that way. And we're in the business of making sure people feel safe. We're law enforcement but… at the end of the day, we're still a business."

"What can we do?" Gia asked.

Emma reached into her purse and took out a couple forms. "Wes and Eric wanted me to give you this when Tiger was feeling better. Since she is, I figure sooner is better than later."

"What is it?" Gia asked. She was tired, she had a long day and didn't want to read through all the legal jargon. Emma was happy to oblige, having already read it herself.

"Wes and Eric will still own and fund the Summer Cove Branch of the Silver Guardians," Emma said. "But only until you're up on your feet. Then they want you to be independent."

"They're handing it over to me?"

"It's a pretty good deal. They'll help you out financially and support you until you have the right foundation to separate. Then after, they've still promised to work with you to keep the city safe, and you work with them, but you'll be in charge. You'll make the big decisions."

"But I pay myself."

"Yes," Emma nodded. "But they promised not to let that happen until it could happen. They don't want to leave you stranded but with everything happening in Summer Cove, they can't justify opening a new branch when most people won't even be living here anymore."

"So, it's basically a city reset?" Gia asked. We're staring from scratch."

"Just like Harwood did. Only… there's no mayor here. He quit. He's moving and starting over."

"Great," Gia said. "So, I guess it's up to me to…"

Emma shook her head. Gia frowned. "I'm not in charge of the city?"

"This is the part you might have a problem with."

"If it's the police chief…"

"The police are falling apart too. It's too dangerous now," Emma said. "The people who are considering returning are doing so only if they get the mayor they want."

"And that is…"

"The pink Ranger. Well, most people want the pink Ranger. Some want you, if that's any consolation."

"Sarah? The seventeen-year-old?"

"She's a Power Ranger. She's the only one they know."

"They know me."

"Sarah's current, and after everything that happened when her identity came out, most people feel like she'll do anything she can to keep them safe. With Oedius still out there, they crave safety more than anything."

"But Silver Guardians…"

"It doesn't make sense to me either," Emma assured Gia. "But I analyzed everything myself and… this is what people want. Silver Guardians, especially the Summer Cove branch, might lose a lot of public faith if they don't give the people what they want, and the Rangers might lose the public's trust if they don't make sure people feel safe enough to return home."

"Kids shouldn't even be Power Rangers," Gia shook her head. "I mean, it was hard enough getting through high school before we got our powers. After? I'm surprised we graduated. To be mayor, on top of all that."

"You can help," Emma said. "And it's not like she'll actually have to do much. She can just be a face. Show up after attacks, reassure people that everything is under control. You can do all the stuff you'd do anyway. That's what the city needs."

"Do we have time to figure this out?"

"We'll see what happens after you put out the all clear," Emma said. "These are just polls. People still have time to change their minds. The mayor could decide to come back, or the police might return to duty. Anything can happen still."

"Anything can happen," Gia repeated, then sighed. "Why don't I like the sound of that?"


	19. Mayoral Candidate

Though the Rangers all had a late night, the fight in the morning wasn't difficult. It happened early, as Madam Oedius nor Brax cared too much for the Rangers' schedule. Brax arrived in town, threatening the Rangers again and claiming he was going to take back what they stole from Oedius. He promised them he had trained and was stronger than last time. He was confident he could beat them.

He was quickly proven wrong. Just as quickly as before, he was beaten, and ran off crying about how the fight wasn't fair – this time complaining that six to one was too much for him. He couldn't handle it.

"Too easy," the Rangers chuckled to themselves as they returned to the base. Since the city had been evacuated, with most people not daring to return, there was no school. They had a day off and wanted to take advantage of this time to spend it together. Preston was feeling better after a day of rest, so they all wanted to figure out something they could do.

"We could train," Hayley suggested first, and Mick was happy to hear that as he returned to work on repairing and maintaining the Power Stars. Though they were extremely durable, they did take hard hits in battle, sometimes causing them to chip or crack. If they broke, they would lose power and so to prevent that, Mick and RedBot were always inspecting them, making sure they were good to go before they Rangers needed them. "Brax might be easy but Oedius is still out there."

"Why bother with Brax if she's got something better?" Calvin asked his girlfriend. "We've taken a lot of hard hits late. We deserve some down time."

"We'll have to leave the city again if we want to do anything else," Brody reminded them. "Everywhere is still closed from the evacuation."

"We could take advantage of that," Kelly said. "The park will be wide open. We could have a picnic, maybe bring a ball and play some catch or something."

"Maybe today would be a good day to get some training done?" Mick suggested and hoped that if he brought their focus back to training, they would agree to do it. He knew they were still teens and they needed their free time, but they did have a responsibility. If they could get some training done now, they would be ready for a stronger attack, and there would still be plenty of time left for them to have some fun. "You could train in the park without raising suspicion, and still have lots of time to do what you want."

"We train all the time," Preston said. "I think I like having a day just to… relax."

"But…"

"Picnic at the park, then?" Brody asked. "We can head home, grab some supplies for the day and then meet at the park in about an hour?"

"Sounds like a plan," the others agreed then started to rush out. As they did, Mick called Sarah back and asked if she could stay to speak with him. Sarah groaned, but sat with him around the work table. Mick pointed to her project with the Ninja Blades.

"I do think you should work on this a little more," he told her. "Brax may not be a threat, but with Oedius still out there…"

"But the others…"

"Sarah, your project is very important," Mick told her. "And if you start something, you should finish it."

"And I will."

"When?" Mick asked.

"When it needs to get done."

"When it needs to be done? As in, when you need it?"

"Brax is easy, Mick. We don't need to waste time and energy and weapons this powerful for him."

"If he so easy, why haven't you defeated him yet?"

"Because he runs away," Sarah groaned. "Come on, Mick, I want to get home. I have a drone I've been working on that I want to finally test today."

"But Sarah…"

"But Mick, you didn't stop the others," Sarah pointed out and she was right. He couldn't force the others to train, and so he had no idea how to stop them. They were also a group, who had collectively decided not to train. Sarah was just one person. He hoped he could convince her to work on her project, and have it completed before it was needed.

"I… Alright," Mick nodded. Sarah was right, he hadn't stopped the others and he knew there wasn't anything he could say to convince her to work while they all took more time off being Rangers. "In that case, I'll join you. I mean, your Power Star still has a couple of nicks in it from when Oedius stole it, but it worked fine against Brax, so I'm sure repairs can wait."

"Now you're getting it."

"I am getting it," Mick smiled. "How silly of me to think I should have had it done before it was needed when you made it perfectly clear that we don't need to take care of our weapons until after they're useful."

"It's only Brax. At the rate he's going, I don't think we'll even need to morph to beat him."

"Probably not," Mick nodded. "And if he's the best Oedius has, we won't need any Power Stars, so I shouldn't bother repairing any of them as they get damaged. Not your pink Star, or any of the weapons. I'll do that after Oedius attacks us again."

"I… uh… what?" Sarah frowned and shook her head. "Uh, Mick, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Mick asked. "You're doing it with the Blades. We don't need them to beat Brax, so there's no point in working on them, right?"

"The Blades are just one weapon. My pink Star should be repaired before Oedius attacks."

"What's the difference? It's just one of seven Power Stars," Mick shrugged. "And it's not like it's not working. It's still letting you morph and letting you use all your powers."

"I haven't had to exert myself since getting it back," Sarah frowned. "Mick, if the damage is worse than we think, and we try to fight Oedius, I might be in over my head."

"But why should I work when you're off having a picnic?" Mick asked. "That's not fair."

"You know how to repair the Power Stars. We can't do that ourselves. If you don't do it, it won't get done."

"What about the Ninja Blades?" Mick asked.

"Well… that's…"

"Aren't you the only one who knows how to improve them?" Mick asked her.

"Yeah, but…"

"And didn't you originally start working on them because you wanted to get ahead of Oedius? How can you do that if you're going to wait until it's needed?"

"You weren't actually going to leave the Power Stars broken, were you?" Sarah asked Mick, who gave her a little shrug.

"Don't know. I was starting to really like the idea of a bit of time off," Mick said. "How about we let RedBot worry about the repairs and I help you with the Ninja Blades. We can get the work done faster and maybe you'll be able to join your friends and fly your drone before the end of the day."

"Sounds good, I guess," Sarah nodded her head. "I'll just text the others, tell them I'll be a bit late."

Gia stepped out of the bedroom at that moment, with a hungry Tiger right behind her. As she went to the fridge to find something for the cat to eat, she looked to Sarah.

"Can we have a word?"

"Is it important?" Sarah asked. "I have a project I need to work on and…"

"It's important," Gia confirmed. "It's about the future of Summer Cove."

Sarah sighed, then turned to Mick, "The tools I need are in my notes. Can you get them while I talk to Gia?"

As Mick started to prepare the work station, Sarah went and sat at the table. Gia put Tiger's meal on a plate and set it down for the cat to have breakfast, then sat with Sarah. She looked the pink Ranger in the eyes.

"Would you call yourself a leader?" she asked.

"I'm not in the red spandex," Sarah answered. "But I guess generally, yes."

"Do you enjoy leading?"

"I don't hate it."

"How would you feel about leading an entire city?"

"Uh… like… how?"

"Mayor."

"Aren't those elected?"

"Emma stopped by last night," Gia explained. "She told me that the city's opinion on Tiger is pretty much unchanged after what happened."

"That's good."

"But she also told me that the city doesn't plan on returning to the city after we give out the all clear," Gia said. "And the few people who do will only do so if you're in charge."

"Me?"

"You can turn it down," Gia said. "It's a lot to put on your shoulders but it's what the city wants. And if you do agree to it, I'll be there supporting you. I can do most of the work and you can be the face. But only if you want. Only if you feel comfortable."

"Me? Mayor?"

"I know," Gia nodded.

"Starting when?"

"Now?" Gia answered. "The current mayor isn't returning. He's given up his position. There is no deputy mayor and the chief of police is backing out too. It's you and me, rebuilding this city, keeping everyone safe."

"And if I say no?"

"No city," Gia said. "No school, no businesses… this whole place just falls apart."

"But no casualties."

"We did a good job of keeping that number down when the city was full," Gia said. "With fewer people, it'll be easier. Harwood is still recovering from the city being destroyed and no one wanting to return. We can't let that happen here."

"You'll help me?"

"I will."

"Can I think about it?"

"If you don't want to do this…"

"It's tempting," Sarah said. "I just, I want time to talk to the others. Get their opinion, their support, if I need it."

"You have until the end of the day, then," Gia said. "But I want to give out the all clear by tonight. That'll include announcing you as mayor or not. We want transparency."

"I'll work on the Ninja Blades, think about it for myself, then talk to the others. I'll let you know around dinner," Sarah promised.


	20. Showing Confidence

"This happened in Harwood," Kelly said to her friends after Sarah told them about Gia's proposal. Sarah was considering taking on the position of mayor. It seemed the city felt safer with her in charge. She couldn't argue that. She knew her classmates and teachers felt safer with her at school after what happened. On days she missed, her friends would tell her how jumpy everyone was – how emotional some students got. Seeing Sarah, knowing she was a Ranger, and knowing she would do everything she could to keep them safe was a comfort to people.

Having her lead, the city through the fight was just the next step. Sarah wouldn't endorse for the city to return, since Oedius and her monsters were still active, but if people did want to come back, she wanted them to feel safe and confident. It would show Oedius that even when she tried her best to cause terror, it wasn't enough.

Kelly continued, "Dad reported on the whole invasion and the fallout from it. People evacuated, but when it got bad, there were so many who were caught in it. Hundreds of people died and there were thousands of injuries."

"That was the big Ranger fight, wasn't it?" Calvin asked. "Where literally every Ranger who existed at the time showed up to help."

"Yeah," Kelly nodded. "Its why dad wanted to be there. He was sure he would get a lot of attention. After the attack, people had to leave, since the whole city was flattened. Some people returned to rebuild but very few people stayed. Houses were on the market for super cheap, and hardly sold. No one felt safe there anymore."

"It's where Gia's from," Sarah said. "Her whole family, all the Rangers' families, moved out to Angel Grove. By the time the city was ready for more people, everyone was settled."

"We haven't seen an attack like it since," Kelly told the others. "The Dino Ranger from Amber Beach kept their fights pretty contained. Their final battle happened in the museum and the rest of the city was untouched. Oedius has stretched out her attacks in the city, at the school, in the parks, and in people's houses."

"Our house," Hayley specified. "But the public doesn't know that, right?"

"I guess being forced to leave gave everyone the push they needed to just drop everything and start over," Levi said with a shrug. "Now that they're gone, it's easier not to come back."

"It's safer," Preston nodded. "Oedius only attacked outside Summer Cove once, and that was targeted."

"I guess if people are going to come back, they want to know they'll be safe," Calvin said. He turned to Sarah. "They want you in charge. Having a Ranger who knows what's happening on and off the battlefield has to feel pretty secure, right?"

"Are you really considering it?" Preston asked. Sarah nodded her head.

"What about keeping the city empty?" Brody suggested. "If there's no one around, then when Oedius attacks us, we don't have to worry about casualties."

"How will that look, though?" Sarah asked. "I just… I think it sends a stronger message to everyone and Oedius to encourage people to come back. It tells everyone that we feel confident enough in ourselves that we can keep them safe."

"And with the exception of a few really surprise attacks, we have done a good job," Hayley nodded.

"If we believe in us, the city can start to believe in us," Sarah said. "And if the city believes in us, maybe they can help us out."

"And Oedius?" Levi asked.

"Oedius will see she didn't scare of the city and know her terror tactics didn't work," Sarah shrugged. "We can't predict what she'll do, but she can't predict our actions eithers."

"It will make a stronger statement than just letting the city hide," Kelly nodded.

"Not to mention, what'll happen to us if there's no city?" Sarah asked. "No school…"

"That sounds good," Calvin smirked.

"No stores."

"We got enough stuff," Levi shrugged.

"Food?" Sarah looked around and the others realized the problem. Without people, there would be no one working to bring food into the city, and no reason to bring food to the city. Grocery stores would be closed, and even if the Rangers could break in, there was only so long the food would last. Perishables would perish in a few weeks and canned and boxed food was only so nutritious. Power would likely be cut as well, since no one was paying for it and there was no need to power an empty city, and so it would be impossible to heat up frozen or uncooked foods, and impossible to keep frozen foods frozen long enough to cook them.

"Can you handle it?" Hayley asked Sarah, as she, and the others, realized taking on the position of mayor was more of a necessity than a choice.

"Gia promised she would help. The Silver Guardians did lead the rebuild of Harwood, and she was in charge at the time, so I guess she knows what she's doing."

"it's not like you'll be alone," Brody smiled. "You'll have Gia, and even though we aren't public, we will have your back."

"Should we go public?" Kelly asked. "Take the burden off Sarah, a little. Maybe show the public who they'll be putting their trust in?"

"My parents would freak out if they learned that I was a Ranger," Calvin shook his head.

"So, would my parents," Preston nodded. They were the only two whose parents didn't know. Levi and Brody's father had been the red and gold Ranger for a moment when the Rangers needed a little help against Galvanax and his monsters, and Hayley's father had been told after Jenny died, when Hayley and Kelly had no other way to explain the series of tragedies except to come out with the truth. Shane was aware of his niece's activities, and had been a Ranger himself. Preston and Calvin, so far, kept their parents in the dark.

"Do you know if they plan on coming back?" Hayley asked the boys. "Because if they're moving, they'll want you to come with them."

"So."

"You'll be going to school wherever they move," Kelly said. "If Oedius attacks in the middle of the day, how are you going to justify leaving?"

"Mick won't be there to excuse you," Brody nodded.

"And it'll take you forever to show up to the fight. And if it's Oedius, we'll need all the help we can get, as soon as we can get it."

"Speaking of," Sarah said as she picked up her hoverboard and turned to leave. "I promised Mick I'd work on my project today, and I told Gia I'd get her an answer before the dinner. I'm headed back to Ninja Ops."

"We'll figure out what to do," Preston nodded his head.

"Let me know either way," Sarah said.


	21. Coming Out

Preston had a big decision to make. His friends had weighed in, but they knew as well as he did that the final decision was entirely up to him. It was his life and his family that would be changed. It was only fair that he did what he thought was right, despite what anyone else believed.

With Sarah taking on the position of mayor, the others had decided it might be a good idea to come out to the public. They would share their identities to help take the pressure off Sarah, as well as let the public know who it was they were trusting with their lives.

For Sarah, the decision was already made. Her identity was public. Brody didn't have many connections or friends outside the Rangers, so it was easy for him to come out.

Levi had brought up the point that coming out would likely help his career. He had taken a hiatus when he first met his team so that he could focus on saving the world. He had been in the middle of a tour when he got his Power Star and splitting his focus between being a Ranger and his music would cause both his career and his responsibilities to suffer. More and more, people were wondering when he would come back. His label had been threatening to drop him, since he had pretty much fallen off the face of the planet as far as they were concerned, and his manager and team weren't too happy with him. His fans, especially, were losing their patience, and moving on to the next bit hit that they could find.

Coming out as a Ranger would explain his absence. And saving the world was far more important than touring the world. He was sure his label would want to keep him, as it was a unique brand for him, he was sure Tom would understand, and his fans, even if their interest in him had faded, he was sure it would spike again when they found out he was a superhero.

For Kelly, it was also easy. Most people already assumed she was the green Ranger, since her wheelchair arrived around the same time the green Ranger started needing a wheelchair in battle. Kelly wouldn't be coming out, but rather confirming suspicions.

Hayley wanted to come out. Her father already knew she was the white Ranger and she couldn't see a reason not to. It would allow her to stay in the city, and while she didn't want to advertise the fact that Oedius had targeting her mother in the attack, people who could make the connection between Hayley being a Ranger and her mother being killed might be comforted to know that it wasn't random.

No one in Preston's life knew he was the blue Ranger except for the other Rangers and their allies. His parents weren't going to be happy, and though he did have some experience now with disappointing them and standing against them, it wasn't something he wanted to cause. He had only distanced himself from them as a reaction to their behaviour towards Sarah.

Since they had tried to make amends with him, he had moved back into their home, but little had been done to repair the relationship. He didn't feel especially close to them, though he never really had. However, if he were to come out as a Ranger, it would be a huge hit to the Tien name. Like how Levi thought being the gold Ranger might help his career, it was possible this could help the Tiens with their business. However, and this was an oversight Preston felt Levi had made, the Tiens had a lot of money, and the Rangers as a result of their battles had caused a lot of damage to the city. It was very possible to Preston that if he came out, the bill for repairing the city, as well as medical expenses, would fall on his family. It hadn't happened to Sarah, but she didn't have money. Any individual could see this as a chance to take the Tien fortune to make up for any loss or injuries they may have suffered.

Though, it wasn't like his parents had been especially generous with their money. They donated to charity around the holidays, but it was more of a business deal than it was kindness. Outside of the holidays, Preston knew his father was very frugal. He wouldn't spend money unless he knew it would bring him back more money in the long run. The only reason he invested so much into Summer Cove was because he knew the better educated Preston was, the better he could run the company when he took over (not even considering that Preston might not want to follow in his footsteps) and the more money Mr. Tien could continue to make.

Preston was of the mind that you should give more than you get, and so it would only be fair that his father donate – or pay – for repairs and medical bills. His father wouldn't understand. His mother; perhaps less so. Preston had never really seen her work. She had a job that paid her very, very well, but she also had a lot of assistants. He knew she had to earn her way up, since her family hadn't come from money, but she had that position since he was a child. Since getting assistance, she delegated all her work to them. Her only job was telling others which parts of her job to do, and then tell them they weren't doing it right. Even at home, between the cook, the maid, the butler and all the other workers they had hired, his mother didn't have to do any of the cooking or cleaning. She had barely even raised her own son, since she had hired a bunch of nannies to look after him both while she worked and while she was busy at home (doing what, Preston wasn't sure).

It was justice, Preston felt, but it was forced justice, which was perhaps the only kind, but it didn't feel right to do it to his own parents. Though their relationship was estranged, he did still love them. He didn't want to cause them more trouble.

But not coming out? His parents surely weren't going to stay in Summer Cove. His father, the developer, would eventually want to come back to buy up land, build it into a big condo, or business, or shopping center, or anything that would make money, but for the time being, he would look elsewhere. No sense in spending money when as soon as the project was completed, it could come tumbling down. Then he would have to pay to rebuild, and then pay to rebuild again, it wouldn't be worth it. He'd wait until Summer Cove was already on the road to recovery before he returned. By then, the Rangers would have already stopped Oedius.

If his parents moved, Preston would have to move with them, or move out. If he moved with them, he would attend a new school and it would be hard for him to meet up with his friends for training. Worse, still, he would be late to fights. He would get the call, like the others, but he would have to travel from wherever he was all the way to Summer Cove. By the time he arrived, he could have missed everything, or Oedius could have already won.

Just the thought of being late to a fight and his friends losing as a result made him sick. He had already promised they could trust him, and especially after what happened to Sarah in the future, he really couldn't stomach the idea of disappointing them. He had to stay in the city, no matter the cost.

The question was: would he tell his parents why, or would he have to lie to them? Either way, they wouldn't be happy.

"I made up my mind," Calvin said and turned to Preston. Though this was a personal decision, they had sat together to figure it out. Preston looked to his yellow Ranger.

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna tell them," Calvin said. "It'll be hard for them and me but… I'm guessing it was hard for Jenny to find out, but she handled it well. And I know Mr. Foster took it hard, but he was cool. My parents might not like it but they are pretty level-headed. They should get it too. And that way, I can still be here, with the others. You?"

"I… I don't know," Preston said. "Either way, I'm staying, but… do I tell my parents I'm just moving out? That our family isn't working, which it's not, or do I tell them the other truth?"

"We're all telling the public," Calvin said. "You'll be the only one."

"I know."

"People will suspect you," Calvin said. "That played into it too. Everyone at school knows I hang out with the others. They'll put the pieces together. I'll just be denying the truth, instead of hiding behind a mask, and people probably won't like that."

"My parents aren't like yours."

"I know. And you know we'll support whatever decision you make," Calvin said. "I just know my parents deserve honesty from me, so I'll give it to them."

"My parents don't deserve much from me," Preston sighed.

"You need to do what'll be best for you, then," Calvin said. "Will you be comfortable living with a lie when everyone else is telling the truth?"

"No," Preston answered.

"I think you know what to do then," Calvin said. He rose to his feet. "Wanna tell the others? If we update them and Sarah now, maybe Gia can squeeze this all into the all clear."

"Sounds good," Preston nodded.

-Ninja-Steel-

Brax wasn't much of a threat, but Oedius was. Though taking some time off from Ranger duties was a much-needed break, Mick was right. Sarah needed to get back to work. She wanted to have her new Ninja Blade upgrade ready before there was a real threat to the Rangers. She wanted to show Oedius that they were ready and stronger than anything she had planned.

In order to do that, she needed to work. In the background, she did have on her news. Gia had just given out the all-clear for people to return to the city after she had announced an evacuation. In the interest of keeping casualties low until they could figure out why Tiger was attacking the city, Gia had ordered for the evacuation. Tiger was a force that couldn't be stopped as she tore through the streets, breaking down cars, tossing buildings and hurting anyone or anything in her path. Now that Tiger was back to herself, it was safe for people to return to their homes.

There wouldn't be many people coming back, but Gia did give out the all clear, as well as made two other announcements. The first being that Sarah had accepted the mayor position. Gia told the city that the Summer Cove Silver Guardians would be working closely with Sarah and the Rangers on decisions that would improve the safety and overall wellbeing of the public. Sarah was in charge. She was the face leading the city now, which is what they wanted.

Then came an announcement nobody had been expecting as Gia revealed the identities of all the other Rangers. Some weren't big news. Kelly was already speculated as being the green Ranger by anyone who knew her, and it wasn't much of a big deal to the city that Hayley, Calvin and Brody were Rangers. After Sarah's reveal, everyone had come to expect that the heroes in spandex were teenagers, or at least young adults.

The announcement that Levi was the gold Ranger made a huge splash. The short breaks Sarah took to clear her mind as she worked, she spent on her phone, and social media was blowing up with the revelation. Some saying they knew all along, since Levi's hiatus started around the same time the gold Ranger started showing up more in the news. Others, saying they were completely shocked. Some hated to hear that country superstar Levi Weston was a Power Ranger, either fearing that he wasn't tough enough for the job, or worried they would lose their favourite celebrity.

Preston's name also made the news, but not because of who he was, but because of his parents. Sarah knew it wouldn't be long before Mr. Tien had his nose in Ranger business, and she wasn't sure it would be good.

"I hope they're okay," Sarah said and Mick looked up from his work to give her a nod.

"They made this decision together. They'll support each other, just like they supported you."

"Should be easier for them, I guess," Sarah said. "Everyone hated me."

"Not everyone."

"Okay, most people," Sarah said. "At least now they know we're on their side."

"Anything helps," Mick nodded. "How's the new weapon coming along?"

Sarah held up the prototype. She had made quick progress but unfortunately needed more material and power than she originally thought. Only one Ninja Blade could be powered up at a time, which meant only one Ranger would be able to use it as a time. Since she didn't have to split the power seven ways, she had made it stronger than she originally planned, but she had been hoping for a weapon that could cut Oedius down from every angle.

"It's coming along."

"I've got a Power Star ready for it," Mick said. "When you're ready, we can throw it into the Prism and hopefully, Brax and Oedius will be no problem."

"Let me just make sure everything's working," Sarah nodded her head, at which point the alarm went off. She looked to the monitor and saw it was only Brax. She was close to being done, and Brax had already proven he was no trouble. She was sure the others could handle him for now until she was finished.


	22. Ready For Anything

Madam Oedius had to keep her eyes on the news. It was the only way she could have timed and attack just right. Soon after Gia gave the city the all clear to return, Brax arrived. The Rangers went to take care of him without Sarah, hoping this time to just finish him off instead of allowing him to disappear. While he hadn't yet proven he was a threat, the fact that he kept returning was proving to be troublesome, and the city didn't need that.

Since their identities were revealed, the Rangers arrived without their suits. It would help confirm who they were to anyone who was potentially watching, and the Rangers didn't think they would need the extra power. Brax was so weak, he would flee after a single attack.

They were wrong. So wrong.

Kelly's new wheelchair had been upgraded by Sarah, and while the pink Ranger had promised that her blasters were stronger than the last, it didn't seem to be the case. They would bounce off Brax without leaving so much as a scratch, and Brax would laugh off the attack. He approached Kelly, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. Her chair came with her, because Preston's spell only allowed Kelly to be taken out of the chair when she wanted. When Brax readied himself to throw her, she knew the chair would further injure her and let it drop.

It worked – at least, a little, Brax was still able to throw her, but because the weight from the chair had dropped suddenly, he didn't throw her as well as he wanted. Kelly still hit the ground hard, but the chair had landed on Brax's foot, and while he took a moment to push it away in anger, Levi saw an opportunity to attack.

Hayley rushed over to Kelly's sit and helped the green Ranger sit up. By now, they were all morphed and all aware that they were in over their heads.

"What happened to him?" Kelly asked as she checked herself for injury. While the benefit to being paralyzed below the waist was that she couldn't feel any pain, the scary part was that she couldn't be sure there weren't injuries. Pain was usually an indicator that something was wrong and without it, Kelly needed to rely on visible wounds and bruises.

"There's no way he got that strong so fast," Hayley said.

Kelly called her chair over with her communicator and climbed into it, with Hayley keeping her covered while she was vulnerable. When she was back in her seat, she looked up at Hayley, "Should we retreat? I don't think we can beat him?"

"How is he so tough?" Calvin asked as he arrived, doubling over to catch his breath. "Didn't he run screaming and crying last time?"

"Do you think he faked us out?" Kelly looked to the yellow and white Rangers with a panicked expression. If she was right, then Brax was a much tougher threat than they ever imagined. He had feigned weakness, luring the Rangers to being overconfident in their ability to beat him. Now that they thought he was an easy challenge, and had shown up with less numbers and a few days removed from their last training session, he was showing his full power.

"Maybe," Hayley nodded her head. "At this rate, we're not going to make it."

Preston, Levi and Brody let out a loud cry as they were blasted from Brax and landed hard on the pavement. They groaned loudly in pain and Hayley, Calvin and Kelly knew they needed to step up. They stood protectively before their friends as they faced Brax.

"Sarah?" Kelly spoke over the communicator to her girlfriend. "Your new weapon wouldn't happen to be ready yet, is it? I'd really like to test it out?"

"_Yeah, me too," _Sarah answered. _"It's ready, but it's untested, and there's only one."_

"So, retreat." Kelly decided for herself and for her friends. Brax was too tough for them and without testing, there was no promise that the weapon would work.

-Ninja-Steel-

Mick wanted to say "_I told you so"_. Seeing the battle unfold, with Brax suddenly becoming too strong for the Rangers was proof that he had been right all along. They should have kept up with their training.

This wasn't the time for _"I told you so"_, and Mick had to think that getting their butts kicked by Brax was enough for the Rangers to realize it on their own. He didn't need to rub it in, he needed to offer help.

Gia arrived at the base, with Tiger following behind her. The big cat looked strong and healthy again, but Gia wanted to keep her close, both to monitor her, just in case anything changed, and because after what happened, she was still a worried mother. She saw Sarah working hard on the final touches of her new weapon and then looked to Mick.

"I knew it," he said to Gia, because he could. Because he had been right; the Rangers should have been training. He should have pushed harder for it. Gia told him to let them fail.

"He pretended to be a Vekar," Gia agreed with Mick. She hadn't discounted his theory that Brax could have been a real threat, disguised as a cry-baby. She knew it was possible, but she also knew stubborn Rangers. The Ninjas had been through a lot lately and were likely looking for any excuse to get some time off. Brax was their best shot at that, since he appeared weak. Now they were going to learn the hard way that there was no time off for Rangers. "Now they'll know in the future not to underestimate an enemy."

Mick nodded. It was a lesson learned the hard way. He did prefer Rangers learning on their own, since they seemed to always listen to themselves more than they would listen to anyone else. He like presenting them with hypothetical scenarios or, since he was a shapeshifter, taking on their problems himself and getting them to solve it for him, which in turn would help them solve their problems. He didn't like teaching lessons the hard way because the risk of failure was so high.

Gia had a different approach. Mick didn't like it, but it got the same results, so he couldn't really complain. Hopefully, next time, the Rangers would just choose to hear him out, instead of allowing themselves the opportunity to fall flat on their faces.

"Sarah?" Gia called as she turned to the pink Ranger – the only one who had listened to Mick, even if begrudgingly. "Is the weapon ready?"

Sarah held up the newest Power Star. Mick had already thrown it into the Prism and given it back to her. Theoretically it should work, but she didn't want to run the risk that there was a miscalculation when Brax had proven to be stronger than any monster the Rangers had fought before.

"It's ready for testing," Sarah nodded her head. She picked up her sword. "I'll meet the Rangers outside, we'll test it out and hopefully it'll be enough for Brax next time he shows up."

"Probably won't be long," Gia said. "Now that we know he's tough, he won't want to give us much time to train again. Do what you need, but do it fast."

"Always," Sarah smirked then headed outside, where she would meet the others and tell them about the new weapon available to them: the Superstar Blade.

When she was gone, Gia let out a long sigh and sat down in a chair. Mick came over to her.

"Everything okay?"

"Just getting ready for the shit storm," Gia told him. "People are happy Sarah took on the mayor's position."

"That's good, right?" Mick asked. Gia nodded.

"It is, there's just… the reveal. All the Rangers identities are known."

"Is that a problem?"

"I hope not," Gia said. "But I do have to be ready for anything, right?"

Mick couldn't argue. That was true. While the city had come around to the idea that Sarah, the pink Ranger, was a hero, ready to help them against all threats, whether they were monsters or not, they were now very aware of the identities of all the Rangers. It was possible nothing would be different, but it was also possible that everything could change.

"We'll be ready for whatever happens," Mick assured her.

"I'll make sure of that."


	23. The Parents Know The Truth

Shane watched everything unfold on TV. He saw Gia make the all clear, he heard the announcement that Sarah would take on the position of mayor, and he saw Gia reveal the identities of the Rangers.

Now, he was watching as the Rangers finished off Brax. He felt some pride and some guilt over what he saw. He was proud, because he knew this was Sarah's weapon, her design, that they were using to take down the brute with some ease. He was proud because when faced with a challenged, Sarah managed to find a way out.

He was guilty because the people who raised her, who made her into the Ranger she was, couldn't be here to see it. He knew as terrified as she would be, Jenny would want to watch this moment.

"Never thought I'd love pink," Shane commented when Brax was destroyed. He knew what came next. The monster would grow, the Rangers would summon their Zords, and if they kept their momentum, they would finish him off. Shane wanted to keep watching, but he turned off the TV when there was a knock at the door.

He had been spending more time with Dane and Aaron. They were the fathers of Rangers and since there weren't too many people they could turn to who would understand what they were going through, they had agreed to lean on each other. He assumed it was one of them, coming over to talk about what happened. He figured Aaron was more likely. He was the newest member of their group.

He answered the door and found two very angry sets of parents. The Tiens and the Maxwells were in the hallway and barged into his apartment when the door opened.

"Did you know?" Mr. Tien asked and looked around. Shane wasn't sure who he was looking for, but didn't bother to stop him. He had nothing to hide anymore.

"Know what?"

"About the Rangers?" Mrs. Tien growled. "Don't play stupid. Your niece was revealed as the pink Ranger a long time ago."

"I wouldn't say a long time ago…"

"You knew though, right?" Mr. Maxwell asked, his voice was less harsh than the Tiens, but he was still upset. Shane didn't know how to answer. Clearly the two sets of parents had just learned their sons were Rangers, and they were upset. If Shane were to reveal that he knew, they would ask him how, or why. If he played dumb, well… he would be playing dumb, and lying to parents.

"I…"

"Of course, he knew," Mr. Tien rolled his eyes at the Maxwells. "His niece is a Ranger. He probably lets them hide out here all the time."

"Do you know where Calvin is?" Mrs. Maxwell asked calmly, like her husband. Shane liked them. He felt he could be honest with them. The Tiens were enraged, perhaps rightfully so, but he didn't get them sense that he could be honest and then reason with them.

"I know where the Ranger base is," Shane nodded his head and found a way to speak without revealing he knew about Preston and Calvin the whole time. "I can take you there, but I think if your boys are going to talk to you, they'll come find you."

"If they were going to talk to us about this, they would have done it already," Mr. Tien growled. "No, this behaviour is unacceptable!"

There was another knock at the door and this time, the person let themselves in. Shane saw it was Serena, but Serena didn't notice he had company.

"So, Sarah's mayor?" Serena asked before she did a scan of the room. She recognized Preston and Calvin's parents from the few times they had been at the school. "Oh… we all saw the news, then?"

"Does she know?" Mr. Tien asked and turned to Shane. By now he could only shrug. Mr. Tien was perhaps the most intimidating of all the parents and Shane didn't want to make matters worse for the Rangers, or Preston.

"Everyone knows," Serena answered. "Officer Holling just announced their identities on the news and word spreads like wildfire."

"We just want to talk to the boys," Mr. Maxwell said to Shane.

"Talk?" Mr. Tien shouted. "The boys had two years to talk to us! Now isn't the time to talk."

"There's a reason they…"

"There is no reason," Mr. Tien shouted at Serena this time. "Take me to my son, now!"

"Alright," Serena nodded her head. She looked to Shane. He could only shrug. This had never been an issue before. His parents still didn't know he was the red Ranger, and he had found out about Sarah shortly after she became a Ranger. He had never been surprised with the information.

"We'll lead the way," Shane said. He walked over so he was next to Serena as the two couples followed him out of his apartment. As he locked the door, he whispered to Serena, "Any idea what to do?"

"I've never had to come out. You?"

"Never had," he shook his head. "Any chance we can warn the boys what'll be waiting for them after the fight?"

"I can send a quick text…"

"No texting!" Mr. Tien shouted and Serena quickly put her phone back in her pocket. "I don't want to give that son of mine any warning. He had two years to prepare what he was going to say. Anything he can come up with in the next few minutes will be garbage."

"He's tough," Shane whispered to Serena, who only nodded.

-Ninja-Steel-

The fight with Brax was over, and though it was tough, Sarah's Superstar Blade had given the Rangers to winning edge. They had underestimated Brax, a mistake they weren't going to let themselves make again, but at the same time, he had underestimated their resourcefulness. When the odds were against them, the Rangers found a way to beat them, like they always did. They just needed to get their heads back in the game.

"It's too bad there's only one Power Star," Brody said about the Superstar Blade. "We'd be unstoppable if we could have seven of them."

"I could make seven, but they would only be as strong as the one," Sarah said with a little shrug. She had considered reducing the power to each weapon so that all the Rangers could have one of their own. However, by doing so, the Superstar Blade would be barely any stronger than the weapons they had now. By putting all the strength into one sword, with a Power Star that was able to be used by anyone on the team, they had a much stronger weapon. Combined with their other weapons, the Rangers were far stronger now than they were before.

"Oedius won't be ready for us now," Hayley smiled. The Rangers stepped into Ninja Ops, expecting to get a little chance to unwind before the rest of their day. Preston and Calvin knew they were going to have to talk to their parents about the reveal that was made that morning about their identity. They didn't know that their parents would be waiting for them in base, with an apologetic Serena and Shane in the back corner.

Calvin looked to his parents. They seemed angry, but also a bit disappointed and upset. They looked like they were ready to talk to him about his secret, but also like he was in for a world of trouble. Preston's parents were livid. Calvin knew they were tough. Preston's relationship was almost non-existent with them because of their strict views on a lot of things that Preston didn't agree with. That didn't stop them trying to be his parents, though.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Tien barked as he glared at his son. His arms were crossed. "You've been the blue Ranger this whole time?"

"Mom, dad, I…"

"I don't want to hear your excuses," Mr. Tien growled. "All this time, you've been lying to us? Telling us you're at school, you're with your friends, when the reality is you're off playing superhero?"

"I'm not playing superhero, I am a superhero," Preston said.

Mr. Maxwell stepped forward, hoping to get a word in this conversation. Mr. Tien had taken over at Shane's apartment but now that the boys were here, Mr. Maxwell wanted his answers – not answers for Mr. Tien. "We just want an explanation… for all this. How and why and…"

"Are you being safe?" Mrs. Maxwell asked. Mr. Tien interrupted before the boys could get a word in.

"I don't want answers. I want results. Preston, you are to give up this action hero nonsense and come move to Angel Grove with your mother and I."

"I can't do that," Preston shook his head. He hated standing up to his father. It made him nervous. His face felt like it was going to melt right off, and he was sure he was red from head to toe. His stomach was in knots but he knew he couldn't let his father push him around. "My team needs me."

"The team is big enough without you."

"Preston's an important part of the team," Sarah said and Preston breathed a sigh of relief. She always had his back and at least this gave him a minute to collect his thoughts.

"You roped my son into this, didn't you?" Mr. Tien growled. "It can't be a coincidence that he makes a new friend at the same time the Power Rangers show up."

"That's not true," Preston frowned. Sarah shook her head.

"It kind of is. I asked you to inspect that UFO with me."

"And if you _two_ hadn't shown up, Ripcon would have beaten me for sure," Brody added. "If anyone's to blame for all this, it's me."

"No one's to blame," Hayley said. "The Prism chose us. We all just happened to be at the right place, at the right time."

"But why you?" Calvin's mother asked as she looked to her son. "Why, of all the people in this city, would it choose you?"

"I… I don't know," Calvin shrugged as he answered honestly. "I mean… I can't say for sure. It's like Hayley said, we were just in the right place at the right time and… the Prism…"

"You mean this thing?" Mr. Tien growled as he pointed to the Nexus Prism in the corner of the room. "You let this chunk of glass decide who gets superpowers and who doesn't? Preston, do you understand the consequences this could have for the family? Summer Cove is estimating that the Rangers have caused billions of dollars of damage. Who do you think is going to pay for that?"

"I…"

"It's going to come out of my pockets!" Mr. Tien shouted at his son. "All our hard work, and for what? You're going to throw all that money away for…"

"It's not about the money, dad."

"It's always about the money!" Mr. Tien shouted. "Everything always goes back to the money."

"I knew you were trouble," Mrs. Tien said as she glared at Sarah. "From the moment I first found out about you, I knew…"

"Mom!" Preston growled to his mother.

"It's true! People like her are nothing but trouble!"

"People like her?" Shane growled. He crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like standing back while the Rangers tried to reason with their parents, but he knew it wasn't his place to step in. Calvin and Preston needed to sort out their families on their own. While it was expected that Rangers keep their identities hidden from everyone, including parents, siblings and friends, they had still made a choice to hide their secret from their parents, and this was the fallout of it. However, Shane couldn't stand by and listen to someone refer to his niece as "People like her". He knew it was meant as an insult, as a way to demean her and make her feel like an other.

"Sarah has nothing to do with this," Preston said, standing up for his friend so Shane wouldn't have to, and so his parents would know they had crossed a line. "I chose to go with her and the Prism chose me as the blue Ranger. And this isn't about money, dad. We're saving lives."

"Whose lives?"

"Everyone's lives," Preston said. "We're fighting to stop Madam Oedius from taking over this planet. We've seen what can happen if she does and everyone suffers. We want to make sure that doesn't happen."

"So who pays for repairs to the city after those big robots you use?"

"Those big robots are the only way we can stop giant monsters from crushing the whole city under their feet," Preston growled. "You and mom can move to Angel Grove if you want, but I'm staying here. I'm the blue Ranger."

"You are going to stop with this nonsense…"

"No."

"Preston, the financial consequences…"

"This isn't about finances," Preston said. "This is about protecting innocent people…"

"Who'll turn around and sue us for damages. Property repairs, lost wages, medical expenses…"

"Should be a small price to pay for peace of mind," Preston argued. "You're not going to change my mind on that. I'm going to continue being the blue Ranger. I don't care about the money. I care about people."

Mr. Tien looked to his son. He always wanted Preston to be able to stand up for himself, but now that it was happening, he didn't like it. He wanted a son who would follow in his footsteps, and see what was important in life. Instead, he found himself with a vigilante magician, who would cost him millions in damages.

"I'm disappointed in you, Preston," his father said. "If this is the choice you're making…"

"It is."

"You can expect no support from your mother and I," his father told him. "From here on out, you're cut off."

"Fine," Preston said, and kept a straight face as his father, followed by his mother, stormed out.

Calvin looked to his parents, worried they might feel the same way. Unlike Sarah, Kelly and Hayley, he hadn't told his parents his secret. They had found out through Gia, just like Preston's parents. He was worried they would be so angry, they would kick him out too.

"Mom, dad…"

"We don't like that you kept this from us," his father told him, looking a little angry, but mostly scared.

"But are you safe?" his mother asked. "Those suits… they don't look very tough. And those monsters are scary and…"

"I'm very safe," Calvin promised them. "I have a good team, and we've been doing this for a while now and…"

"You promise you'll keep us updated from here on out about what you're doing?" his father asked. "Now that we know…"

"I'll call, text, or come home after fights to let you know I'm okay," Calvin assured them.

"This is a good group of kids," Gia spoke up. She knew she wasn't any of their parents, and unlike them, she didn't know what it was like to have to worry about a Ranger child. However, she hoped that since they knew she had been a Ranger before, and since they knew she was a Silver Guardian, that her words might be of comfort to them. "They have good heads on their shoulders, they work together. I like their odds."

"And they have a lot of help," Shane nodded. "There are a lot of past Rangers out there keeping an eye on them, ready to help if things do start to look bad. They aren't alone."

"I don't like this," Mr. Maxwell said to his son. "But… I guess I can't exactly stop you."

"Can we?" his mother asked. Calvin shook his head.

"My team needs me."

"Promise you'll be safe?"

"I'll take care of him," Hayley assured the worried parents as she took Calvin's hand gently. She smiled. "You won't have to worry."

"I don't think that's true, but I appreciate the sentiment," Mr. Maxwell said. Then he looked around. The Rangers had just come from a battle. He didn't know what they would mean yet, but they looked tired and they looked a little sore. They were all well, but he was sure there was a debrief, or something that they needed to get done.

"I can answer anymore question, if you have any," Shane suggested. They knew he had known about Sarah at least since she had been revealed. He could give them tips on how to keep calm, and what to expect. "We should let these guys get back to business."

"We love you, Calvin," his mother said as Shane, Serena, and Gia walked her and her husband out. Mick followed as well, thinking he could offer some insight into the day to day lives of the Rangers, as well as answer questions that had to do with the Power Stars.

When they were gone, Brody turned to the team, "Okay, well, we have no idea what Oedius is planning next but I think it might be a good idea if everyone practiced with the Superstar Blade before our next battle. Get a feel of what it's like."

"I'll go last," Preston said before he left. Sarah looked like she was going to follow him, but Kelly grabbed her hand and held her back."

"I'll go."

"I've already practiced…"

"I'll practice later," Kelly promised. "I think I know what Preston needs right now."

"But…"

"Show the others all the tricks of the Superstar Blade," Kelly told her girlfriend. "I'll let Preston know you wanted to come."

"We could use help from the maker," Hayley nodded. Sarah gave a sigh. Preston was her best friend, and after his fight with his parents, she wanted to console him. However, Kelly seemed confident she could not only handle it, but that she was the best person to handle it.

"If you need anything…"

"I know," Kelly nodded and followed Preston out.


	24. A Legend Is Born

Kelly followed Preston out of Ninja Ops and into the empty school. Since people were only just starting to come back to the city after Tiger's attack, there was only them on site. It was good, in that the Rangers had their privacy, but, though it wasn't really on Kelly's mind now, it was also bad because if there weren't enough teachers, or even enough students, returning to school, it would stay closed. Kelly wasn't sure how she and the Rangers would be able to stop Oedius and finish senior year if they had to go to school out of town.

Kelly made her way out of shop class and down the hall, rolling slowly so she could look for Preston. She wasn't sure where he would go, but she was determined to find him. She just hoped he wasn't upstairs. With no one in the school, she wasn't sure if the elevator would still be working or not.

She checked the music room and the cafeteria, but Preston wasn't there. As she went by, she glanced into the theatre room and saw Preston sitting at one of the desks, propping his head up in his hands with a sad and distant look on his face. Kelly made her way over to him slowly so as not to startle him.

"Drama room? Do you even take drama?"

"The class, no," Preston shook his head. "But I considered auditioning for Romeo and Juliet."

"Really? Why didn't you?"

"Oedius."

"Right," Kelly chuckled. She had had to give up a few of her planned extracurriculars too to make time in her schedule for fighting monsters. She had wanted to join the school newspaper. Though she hated her father, she did still want to follow in his footsteps and knew being a writer on the paper would look good when she applied to colleges. Unfortunately, saving the world had to come first.

"You here to cheer me up?" Preston asked the green Ranger. Kelly shook her head.

"Not really. More support. Sarah wanted to come but… let's face it, even with a murderous dad, her parents were still pretty great people."

"You're here to talk?"

"I just watched your dad basically disown you," Kelly nodded her head. "I've been there before. I know what it's like. Even if you don't agree with them, or even necessarily like them, it's a hard thing to go through. Then you have that inheritance that you can say goodbye to, I'm sure."

"I'm not worried about money."

"Really? Because I am, and while journalism isn't exactly going to make me rich, it's at least a lot more stable that magician."

"It's never been about the money for me," Preston said. "I mean… I'll have to get used to having none, and nothing to fall back on, but I don't care about that."

"It's your parents?"

"Not even," Preston shook his head. "I've never felt close to my parents. I can count on one hand the number of bonding moments I've had with both parents combined. I spent more time with nannies and butlers and maids and cooks."

"Preston, I'm sorry," Kelly told him. She knew she couldn't relate to that. While her and her parent's differing values had pulled them apart, she did still have some fond memories of them that she could think of. There was a time when Kelly felt she had parents. Preston was revealing to her that it seemed that was never the case for him.

"Mom wanted everything to be perfect, and everything to look good all the time," Preston said. "Even as a little boy going on playdates, I'd have to wear a vest and bowtie. As soon as my clothes got dirty, I'd have to put on something clean."

"Makes playing in the dirt a little hard."

"If I wasn't perfect, she'd fix me, and when I was little, I just… I went along with it. I dressed nicely and did my best to be seen but not heard, because that's what good boys did."

"That's terrible."

"It was easier that way… and it's not like I was ever really conditions to fight back. I just wanted to make her happy and never felt that I could. And then there's dad."

"He seems really tough," Kelly said. Preston nodded.

"He is. It's always been about the money for him. How can he make money? How can he keep it? He wanted to build up his business and pass it down to me and so anything I did reflected on the business."

"That's why he's so ticked you're a Ranger?" Kelly asked. "He thinks it'll make his company look bad?"

"He's more worried about the dent that might be put in his earnings than he is about the lives of innocent people," Preston said. "And that… it's just not who I am. I never cared about the money. It's nice to have, and I will miss it, but… I never wanted to take over the company. I wanted to be a magician."

"Do you still?" Kelly asked. "I mean, whether I'm one of the top journalists in the country and pulling in millions, or I have the best selling book, or I'm working for some local paper or my book only sells as many copies as I have friends, I want to write. I want to be a writer because I love it, and the money I make from it will just be a bonus. You wanted to be a magician when you knew you would inherit probably more money than you'd know what to do with. Now that that's gone, and you'll have to support yourself…"

"I still want to do magic," Preston said. "I don't want to be who my father was. I don't want friends that I've bought, who'll leave once the cashflow stops. I don't want to put money before my family. I want a job that I love. I want to spend my life doing something that I enjoy and doing something I believe in."

"Magic."

"And now… I guess something else," Preston said. "You were right earlier when you said it's not exactly a stable career."

"Not until you hit the big leagues," Kelly chuckled. "Kinda like writing, I guess. Go big or go home. I, at least, know I can get work with a local paper writing a daily or weekly piece."

Preston nodded. He would have a lot of things to figure out now that the money was gone, but that still wasn't what bothered him. He genuinely didn't care about the money, and whether it would be filling his pockets or not. Kelly picked up on that and leaned in closer to him.

"So, if you've never been close to your parents, and if it's not about losing all that money… why are you upset?"

"I guess… I'm just disappointed that they're my story," Preston sighed. "I mean, you saw Calvin's parents. They weren't happy but they just wanted to know he was safe. That was most important to them. My dad, he just worried about money. Your parents…"

"Are dicks."

"But you have the Fosters now too," Preston said. "You and Hayley have great parents. Hayley's close with her dad, and she was close with her mom, and they took you in when you needed someone and they didn't even have to. That's part of your story, still. And Dane would do anything for his sons. He's proven that. Brody and Levi are so lucky to have him. Even Sarah, who has a murderer for a dad and a prostitute monster for a mother had Jenny. My story involves parents who care more about their looks and their money than even their own son."

Kelly took Preston's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then she pinched him.

"OW! What was that for?" he asked as he pulled his hand away and started to rub the spot Kelly pinched.

"I can't really argue with you on Hayley and Calvin. Their parents seem pretty perfect. And Brody and Levi aren't exactly problem free, but having a monster attack your family and be forced to either work for him or stay in hiding for ten years is rough, but it's a pretty sweet story to tell, especially since it's got a pretty good happy ending."

"So?"

"So, look at where Sarah's story started. She was being raised in a brothel by a mother who sold herself for cash and a man who sold other women for cash. That's part of her story, but just a small part. Just like her dad's actions at the end of his life is only a small part of her story too. And my parents, like yours, cared more about appearances than their own daughter. God forbid I loved a woman instead of a man."

"But…"

"Exactly," Kelly interrupted, before Preston could say anything. "But, we rose above that. Just like you'll rise above this. Preston, the most boring stories are the ones attached to Hayley and Calvin. The ones that are perfect and where everyone gets along and there's no drama. As a writer myself, I can tell you, I'd never want to write a story about a little rich boy who followed his dreams and wound up successful. Having a perfect life is great, and I do wish everyone had it, but legends aren't born into a perfect life. They take the shit that life throws at them and they turn it into something amazing. Preston, this is the start of your legendary story."

"You really think so?" Preston asked hopefully and Kelly nodded her head.

"I'd much rather write about the little rich boy who grew up, stood up to his father, lost his family fortune and still found a way to do what he loved and found his own version of success. That's a much better story than rich boy stays rich and happy."

Preston chuckled. That did make sense. "Thank you, Kelly."

"No problem," Kelly smiled. "And if you do ever need to talk about the parents disowning you thing, I've got you there too."

"I'll remember that."

"Should we head back?" Kelly asked. "The others are learning to use that Superstar Blade right now and I really don't want to miss out."

"Sounds good," Preston agreed.


End file.
